Blue Horizon Energy

Stem Helps Blue Horizon Bring Energy Storage to Minnesota

Blue Horizon Energy is a full-service clean energy development company whose projects generate reliable, efficient, and sustainable power for businesses and communities. Increasingly, these projects integrate and plan for energy storage to maximize their financial and operational impacts.

Stem is helping Blue Horizon Energy develop and install one of Minnesota’s first large behind-the-meter solar plus storage systems outside the footprint of an investor-owned utility. Working through Stem’s distributor partner, Werner Electric, we are developing a 500kWh energy storage system that will help the client, a manufacturer near Minneapolis, save money on energy bills while bolstering operations with clean backup power.

“We chose Stem for its best-in-class Athena smart energy software, which will help our customer realize maximum value from on-site solar and backup power over the lifetime of the project. We hold our projects to high standards and Stem’s extensive track record and customer service match well with our core values.”

Griffin Dooling

CEO, Blue Horizon Energy

Location

Minneapolis, MN

Customer Type

Manufacturer

Facility Type

Custom Component Manufacturing

Solutions

Utility Bill Optimization, Solar Plus Storage, Backup Power

Commercial Operation Date

Fall 2021

Energy Storage System Size

250kW / 500kWh plus 400kW solar PV

Challenge

With a reputation built on qualtiy, Blue Horizon Energy needed an energy storage partner that met its exacting standards — one with a long track record of success and demonstrated lifecycle support. Its customer needed a turnkey solution that could boost its resilience and sustainability while reducing energy bills and offsetting tax liabilities. And the provider would need to collaborate effectively with the local utility, an electric cooperative.

Solution

Blue Horizon brought in Werner Electric, a distributor in the Stem Partner Network. When Blue Horizon’s team began modeling options, Stem’s prior experience serving co-ops helped navigate deployment challenges. And when a battery manufacturer announced a surprise deadline, Stem’s procurement expertise ensured the battery would be delivered in the customer’s desired timeframe.

Results

Stem’s energy storage solution will help the customer save on utility bills while future-proofing the value of solar PV. In an outage, the battery can provide clean backup power for up to two hours for the entire facility, or longer for critical loads. With interest in clean energy and resilience only increasing, the three companies are currently exploring several other projects across the Upper Midwest.