Incorporated in 1922, Granite Construction is one of the largest diversified construction and construction materials companies in the United States as well as a full-suite provider in the transportation, water infrastructure and mineral exploration markets serving North America and Guam.
Faced with rising demand charges and changing rate structures, Granite pursued energy storage to gain the flexibility to buy energy at the most inexpensive times and use stored power when costs are higher. Granite first installed Stem energy storage at its French Camp site, near Stockton, California, in 2018. The success of that project moved Granite to install Stem systems at four other locations. In 2020, the combination of Stem’s Athena smart energy software and a storage-friendly tariff saved Granite $860,000 on utility bills.
Granite explored energy storage as a means of reducing high demand charges. Many providers had similar-looking systems, but only Stem offered the smart energy software capabilities that were essential to optimizing batteries to maximize savings. And with a footprint across California, Granite needed a provider who could work with all three of the state’s major investor-owned utilities.
Granite chose Stem for our knowledge of battery systems, our installation expertise throughout California, and our best-in-class Athena software. Athena’s predictive analytics, which combine tens of thousands of historical, forecasted, and real-time data points, are ideal for allowing Granite to switch to stored battery power to save on energy costs. Installing storage also allowed Granite to qualify for PG&E’s Option S tariff, which greatly increased potential savings.
Athena’s AI capabilities monitor grid conditions and automatically switch Granite’s plants to battery power during peak demand times. In 2020, Stem’s Athena software and the Option S tariff saved Granite $85K at the French Camp location and $860K across all five of its Stem systems. More installations are in progress.