Stem, Inc., Millbrae, California, a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI)-driven clean energy storage systems, will provide smart energy storage services to Today’s Power, Inc. (“TPI”), a renewable energy company based in North Little Rock, Arkansas, United States, that develops, owns and operates renewable energy assets. A certified partner in Stem’s Partner Program, TPI will leverage Stem’s smart energy storage solution to deliver energy flexibility in electric cooperative projects, starting in Northwest Arkansas.
The partnership will enable TPI’s customers and the large number of electric cooperatives that are adopting solar and battery storage to take advantage of the benefits of smart energy storage systems. These systems are designed to enhance solar facilities, reduce wholesale demand charges and maximize energy savings for electric cooperatives, helping provide rate stability for members. TPI builds, owns, and operates their projects, while Stem will provide the turnkey smart storage solution for those systems. Stem’s solution for electric cooperatives and other utilities includes its Athena™ smart storage software, battery hardware procurement, an interface for the utility to schedule battery dispatch in real time or ahead of time, monitoring network operation center services, and the capability for TPI to monitor battery status and historical performance data.
In December 2020, TPI announced a 2.7 megawatt (MW) solar park project with 7 MW / 14 megawatt-hours (MWh) of energy storage for Ozarks Electric Cooperative, which will be optimized by Stem’s smart storage software. Within its first year of service, this solar park project is expected to produce over 4 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of renewable energy.
John Carrington, Chief Executive Officer of Stem, Inc., commented, “Stem’s partnership with TPI gives electric cooperatives greater flexibility in their energy strategy. As the needs of the utility change over time, Stem’s proven experience and Athena™ software enable us to continually optimize how storage is used to meet those needs. We are happy to be aligned with TPI because they are such a respected company in the electric cooperative space. Together, we plan to deliver significant value to the cooperative member base.”
Michael Henderson, President of Today’s Power, Inc., commented, “TPI recognized Stem’s expertise and ability for Athena™ to call on distributed energy resources and batteries during peak times. Stem also provides reliable capacity when needed through their proven aggregated virtual power plants. Working with a trusted energy storage hardware and service provider makes TPI’s offering that much more efficient. We look forward to continuing this partnership and creating innovative solutions for our customers.”
Stem and Star Peak Business Combination Update
Stem remains on track to complete its previously announced business combination with Star Peak Energy Transition Corp. (NYSE: STPK) (“Star Peak”) in the first quarter of 2021. Upon closing, the combined company will be named Stem and remain listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the new ticker symbol “STEM.”
About Stem, Inc.
Stem provides solutions that address the challenges of today’s dynamic energy market. By combining advanced energy storage solutions with Athena™, a world-class AI-powered analytics platform, Stem enables customers and partners to optimize energy use by automatically switching between battery power, onsite generation and grid power. Stem’s solutions help enterprise customers benefit from a clean, adaptive energy infrastructure and achieve a wide variety of goals, including expense reduction, resilience, sustainability, environmental and corporate responsibility and innovation. Stem also offers full support for solar partners interested in adding storage to standalone, community or commercial solar projects – both behind and in front of the meter.
Headquartered in Millbrae, Calif., Stem is directly funded by a consortium of leading investors including Activate Capital, Angeleno Group, BNP Paribas, Constellation Technology Ventures, Copec, Iberdrola (Inversiones Financieras Perseo), GE Ventures, Magnesium Capital, Mithril L.P., Mitsui & Co. LTD., Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, RWE Supply & Trading, Temasek and Total Energy Ventures.
About Today’s Power, Inc.
Today’s Power, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Arkansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc. (AECI), a Little Rock-based utility service cooperative owned by 17 Arkansas electric distribution cooperatives. Today’s Power, Inc. offers turn-key solar photovoltaic systems, energy storage systems, electric vehicles and charging stations for all sizes and applications.
About Star Peak Energy Transition Corp.
Star Peak is a blank check company incorporated in Delaware for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. Star Peak is led by a management team with extensive experience investing in the energy, energy infrastructure and renewables sectors, including Chairman, Michael Morgan and Chief Executive Officer, Eric Scheyer. Michael Morgan is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Triangle Peak Partners LP and currently serves as a director of Sunnova Energy International (NYSE: NOVA) and lead director of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE: KMI), one of the largest energy infrastructure companies in North America, a company he joined at its founding in 1997. Eric Scheyer is a Partner at Magnetar and has served as the Head of the Magnetar Energy and Infrastructure Group since its inception in 2005.
