Tag Archive for: energy savings

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Knox Community Solar Farms Deliver Clean Energy and Savings to Illinois with Ampion

(HOUSTON and GALESBURG, IL) Hundreds of households and businesses across Knox County will soon gain access to affordable renewable power as ENGIE North America (ENGIE) brings two new community solar farms online. The clean energy generated by these facilities will be made available to the state’s electric grid. Local residents and businesses subscribe to the solar farms through Ampion, a community solar subscription management company that will oversee subscriber enrollment and customer service.

The Knox 2A and Knox 2B projects, located in Galesburg, Illinois, will generate clean energy, cut carbon emissions and provide meaningful bill savings to local subscribers. Together, the two projects will produce more than 8.2 million kilowatt-hours annually, avoiding over 7,800 tons of carbon dioxide emissions – the same as taking 1,655 cars off the road for a year.

A community solar farm is a privately owned business established to capture energy from the sun and convert it into electricity that flows into the utility grid. Residents and businesses can subscribe to a share of the farm’s output and, in turn, receive credits on their monthly electricity bills that reduce costs. ENGIE owns and operates the Knox solar farms, while Ampion provides subscription management by enrolling new participants and supporting them as customers.

“Community solar is about more than clean power. It’s about ensuring that households – including those with the greatest need – share in the benefits of the shift to clean energy,” said Kristen Fornes, Head of Distributed Solar and Storage for ENGIE. “These projects in Knox County show how renewable energy can strengthen communities, reduce costs and create a healthier future for families.”

More than 60% of the subscriptions are reserved for low-to-moderate income households, who will qualify through existing federal and state programs such as LIHEAP, Medicaid, SNAP, and TANF. These households – along with other local subscribers – will receive 20% savings on the value of solar bill credits applied to their monthly electricity bills.

“Ampion is proud to work with ENGIE to help low-to-moderate income families in Illinois access the cost-saving benefits of community solar,” said Nate Owen, CEO & Founder of Ampion. “With the majority of the benefits reserved for households enrolled in programs like LIHEAP, Medicaid, and SNAP, these solar farms will deliver much-needed electricity savings. We look forward to working with ENGIE throughout the course of these projects, while ensuring subscribers receive real cost savings on their utility bills.”

In total, the Knox solar gardens will benefit 443 households and businesses, delivering economic relief and advancing Illinois’ goals for clean and equitable energy access.

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About ENGIE North America

Based in Houston, Texas, ENGIE North America Inc. is a regional hub of ENGIE, a major player in the energy transition, whose purpose is to accelerate the transition towards a carbon-neutral economy. With 98,000 employees in 30 countries, the Group covers the entire energy value chain, from production to infrastructures and sales. ENGIE combines complementary activities: renewable electricity and green gas production, flexibility assets (notably batteries), gas and electricity transmission and distribution networks, local energy infrastructures (heating and cooling networks) and the supply of energy to local authorities and businesses. Every year, ENGIE invests more than $10 billion to drive forward the energy transition and achieve its net zero carbon goal by 2045. ENGIE (ENGI), is listed on the Paris and Brussels Stock Exchanges.  For more information on ENGIE in North America, please visit our website at www.engie-na.com or our LinkedIn page at www.linkedin.com/company/engie-north-america-inc.

About Ampion

Ampion provides turnkey subscription and revenue management solutions for renewable energy developers nationwide, simplifying the complex world of distributed generation. From prospect to payment, we maximize investor returns in a holistic way, optimizing revenue with a customer management platform purpose-built for community distributed generation. We’re industry veterans with the people, platform, and processes required to help developers and asset owners get the most out of their portfolios. Our clients choose us because we make their projects more predictable and more profitable, with better data insights, happier subscribers, and less risk. Learn more at ampion.net.    

Media Contacts

ENGIE North America
Michael Clingan, External Relations
Michael.clingan@external.engie.com

Ampion: Technica Communications
Melanie Morris
ampion@technica.inc

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City of Oceanside and ENGIE Announce a 30-year Comprehensive Energy Project

Oceanside, California and Houston, May 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The City of Oceanside, in collaboration with ENGIE North America (ENGIE), announced plans for a transformative energy initiative aimed at enhancing sustainability, reducing costs and fostering community engagement.

This comprehensive 30-year initiative is projected to generate more than $26,000,000 in net savings for the City. It includes significant energy efficiency gains through a series of strategic measures, including: integrating 1.6 megawatts of solar alongside a 250-kilowatt energy storage system, replacing and refurbishing HVAC units; implementing a battery energy storage system and an energy management system; installing new, efficient distribution transformers and generator heat pumps; and upgrading interior and exterior lighting to LED.

Additionally, ENGIE is taking the lead in spearheading an extensive community engagement effort as part of this initiative. This plan includes a range of programs, including: paid internships with the City; the placement of a CivicSpark Fellow to provide support for the Climate Action Plan; fostering economic development initiatives; establishing a living lab equipped with real-time solar data; bolstering support for the Parks and Recreation Department; facilitating after-school programs to help promote STEM activities; and continuing to revitalize the John Landes Community Center.

By acting proactively, the City of Oceanside was able to secure participation in a Net Energy Metering (NEM) 2.0 Program, which significantly enhances the financial benefits of the solar installations and grandfathers the City into the program for 20 years. Another component of the initiative is the implementation of a battery energy storage system. This system is anticipated to bring numerous benefits, including peak demand shaving, energy arbitrage and demand response capabilities. Oceanside is expected to receive a battery storage system incentive of $150,000 through the State of California’s Self Generation Incentive Program.

Moreover, the initiative aligns with the nationwide Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), allowing the City to benefit from direct pay tax incentive funding. The City qualifies for more than $3.2 million in IRA funding relative to solar and energy storage. This initiative is projected to reduce 4,200,000 kWh of electricity per year, which is equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions of 641 cars annually. Additionally, the integration of solar infrastructure into the City’s Capital Improvement Plan directly contributes to the objectives of achieving 125 MW by 2030 and 165 MW by 2045.

“This initiative represents a significant step forward for Oceanside in our commitment to sustainability and community engagement,” said Mayor Esther Sanchez. “By working with ENGIE, we are not only improving our energy infrastructure but also creating opportunities for economic development and youth engagement. We are excited to see the positive impact this initiative will have on our city.”

“We are proud to collaborate with the City of Oceanside on this groundbreaking initiative,” said Jean-François Chartrain, Managing Director, Energy Solutions Americas at ENGIE. “By leveraging innovative solutions and fostering community involvement, we aim to create a more sustainable and resilient future for Oceanside residents. This alliance exemplifies our commitment to driving positive change through energy innovation.”

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About Oceanside
The City of Oceanside, incorporated in 1888, is a full-service coastal city situated between San Diego and Los Angeles that provides its own police and fire safety, library, water and sewer services. The City has a municipal airport, a beautiful harbor, one of the longest wooden piers in the west, golf courses, aquatic centers, numerous parks, community centers, and palm-lined beaches. Oceanside has a classic beach culture feel with a highly-rated Southern California livability factor, a thriving downtown arts and culture scene, unique architecture and historic buildings, and an efficient transportation hub. Visit www.oceansideca.org


About ENGIE North America
Based in Houston, Texas, ENGIE North America Inc. is a regional hub of ENGIE, a global leader in low-carbon energy and services. ENGIE (ENGI), is listed on the Paris and Brussels Stock Exchanges. Together with our 97,000 employees around the globe, our customers, partners and stakeholders, we are committed to accelerate the transition toward a carbon-neutral world, through reduced energy consumption and more environmentally friendly solutions. Inspired by our purpose, we reconcile economic performance with a positive impact on people and the planet, building on our key businesses (gas, renewable energy, services) to offer competitive solutions to our customers. In North America, ENGIE helps our clients achieve their energy efficiency, reliability, and ultimately, their sustainability goals, as we work together to shape a sustainable future. We accomplish this through: energy efficiency projects, providing energy supply (including renewables and natural gas), and the development, construction and operation of renewable energy assets (wind, solar, storage and more). For more information on ENGIE North America, please visit our LinkedIn page or Twitter feed, https://www.engie-na.com/ and https://www.engie.com.

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Contact Data

Michael Clingan
ENGIE North America, External Relations
michael.clingan@external.engie.com

Rob O’Brien
City of Oceanside, Deputy City Manager
robrien@oceansideca.org

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ENGIE collaborates with Microsoft and Solstice to accelerate access to community solar for under-resourced communities in Illinois

Projects will support lower cost energy for households, organizations and businesses often unable to participate in the benefits of the energy transition.


HOUSTON – ENGIE North America (ENGIE) is collaborating with Microsoft on the development of two community solar projects in Illinois that will serve historically excluded communities and significantly reduce electricity costs for them.

ENGIE will develop, construct, and operate two new community solar gardens, one in Lena, IL west of Rockford, and a second in downstate Illinois. Together, the projects are expected to have a capacity of 4.75 MW, enough to meet the annual electricity needs of more than 1,000 average Illinois households with clean, carbon emissions-free power.

ENGIE and Microsoft will work with leading community solar provider, Solstice, who engages directly with residents, businesses, and community organizations to enroll and manage community solar customers with local community gardens like the ones in Lena and downstate Illinois. Community solar enables households, small businesses and other organizations to benefit from renewable electricity without the need to install their own panels by effectively sharing local, centralized installations. Solstice’s partnership and community organizing model help provide access to renewables for the estimated 77% of Americans who do not have access to roof space or the financial means to install rooftop systems and expands access to traditionally excluded populations.

Traditional approaches to financing have limited the ability of many to install roof-top solar. Solstice has pioneered EnergyScore, a machine learning algorithm to qualify individuals more inclusively and accurately for green products. The focus for these two solar gardens will be on providing access to renewable power to traditionally under-resourced communities, not-for-profit organizations, and other economically disadvantaged groups.

Customers who subscribe to the solar garden program will not only be supporting the transition to a lower carbon future but will also benefit from reduced electricity costs. Because of Microsoft’s involvement in financing the development, customers subscribed to these two solar gardens can expect to see even greater savings than from the current Illinois Shines community solar program. Once fully subscribed, the two solar gardens could save Illinois subscribers around $450,000 in total, with some subscribers benefiting from up to 60% savings through participation.

“At a time when energy costs are rising and are a particular burden on lower income communities, the opportunity to access clean, renewable, locally produced power and reduce daily costs is an important part of accelerating the energy transition in a just way – widening the population who can benefit as we all work to decarbonize our economy” said Laura Caspari, Senior Vice President Power Marketing and Commercial Strategy, ENGIE North America. “This innovative collaboration with Microsoft to help grow access to lower cost renewables for residents and organizations across Illinois reflects our shared desire to widen the positive impact of the energy transition to an increasingly diverse set of communities.”

“As we at Microsoft work toward a more sustainable and equitable future, we are pleased to collaborate with ENGIE and Solstice to help facilitate access to lower cost community solar for communities who have previously been excluded from these opportunities,” shared Danielle Decatur, Microsoft Director of Environmental Justice.

In Illinois, community solar projects were enabled through the 2016 Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA) and subsequent 2021 Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA). Power from the solar gardens is fed into the local grid and credited to customers through their existing utility bills with ComEd and Ameren. This new project model provides renewable volume above-and-beyond existing state programs. ENGIE is hopeful that in the future similar projects will bring economic benefit to under-resourced communities in Illinois while accelerating the state’s energy transition goals.

Construction of the two projects both in rural counties, will be led by ENGIE’s Chicago based team and is expected to commence later this year.

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About the ENGIE Group

The ENGIE Group (made up of ENGIE S.A. and its subsidiaries and affiliates) is a global leader in low-carbon energy and services. With its 96,000 employees, its customers, partners and stakeholders, the Group is committed to accelerate the transition toward a carbon-neutral world, through reduced energy consumption and more environmentally-friendly solutions. Inspired by its purpose (“raison d’être”), ENGIE reconciles economic performance with a positive impact on people and the planet, building on its key businesses (gas, renewable energy, services) to offer competitive solutions to its customers. ENGIE S.A. (ENGI), is listed on the Paris and Brussels Stock Exchanges.
In North America, ENGIE companies have delivered integrated, innovative energy solutions to public and private organizations for nearly half a century. We employ approximately 3,000 people focused on enabling our customers to become more sustainable and achieve their decarbonization targets through expert project delivery and competitive solutions. For more information on ENGIE in North America, please visit our LinkedIn page or Twitter feed, https://www.engie-na.com/ and https://www.engie.com.

About Solstice

Solstice is dedicated to bringing affordable solar power to the 77% of Americans who cannot install a rooftop system. It connects residents and community organizations to nearby shared solar farms, creates financing innovations that expand access to underserved Americans (the EnergyScore), and provides frictionless subscriber management software for community solar projects. Solstice has partnered with municipalities, employers, and nonprofits across the country and won awards from the Department of Energy, Inc. Magazine, and Elle. Together with its partners, Solstice is building an equitable energy future for every American.

Media Contacts:
ENGIE North America: Michael Clingan, michael.clingan@external.engie.com
Solstice: mary@solstice.us

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