LBA Realty

LBA Upgrades Park Place with AI-driven Energy Storage

LBA Realty manages 39 million square feet of commercial and industrial complexes, including Park Place, a distinctive, 1.8 million square foot corporate complex situated within a thriving 105-acre mixed-use development of office, residential, and retail amenities.

LBA Realty recently completed an ambitious redevelopment project, which included sustainability and energy saving initiatives. Committed to reducing tenants’ costs and supporting local communities, LBA activated Stem’s energy storage service, deploying 1.3MW of battery capacity – the then-largest indoor energy storage system in the world – at Park Place. The AI-driven system reduces operating expenses while also providing on-call demand reduction to help strengthen the grid during peak times.

“The installation of Stem’s cutting-edge technology is the most recent demonstration of our commitment to increase sustainability, strengthen the local power grid, and reduce costs for our tenants.”

Perry Schonfeld

Principal and COO, LBA Realty

Location

Irvine, CA

Facility Type

Commercial Office Complex

Solutions

Energy Storage, Utility Bill Optimization, Demand Response, Sustainability

Commercial Operation Date

December 2016

Energy Storage System Size

1.3MW

10-year Savings

$450K

Challenge

Over the years, a commitment to innovation and sustainability has saved LBA millions in operating costs. But prior to deploying Stem, Park Place was still exposed to expensive time-based costs like demand charges and peak time-of-use rates. At Park Place, more than 50 percent of the utility bill is connected to the timing of energy use.

Solution

Unlike traditional efficiency methods, Stem’s AI-driven storage directly targets these time-based costs, giving LBA the flexibility to automatically draw energy from the grid at the most cost-effective times, without requiring any change to operations. Stem’s AI, Athena, stores and deploys energy at optimal times, responding to every fluctuation in energy use and rates. It lowers demand charges and interacts with the grid to support the transition to cleaner energy.

Results

Using Stem to optimize the timing of energy use is projected to save Park Place $450,000 on its electricity bills over the lifetime of the system. Additionally, the energy storage system provides on-call demand reduction to help Southern California Edison balance the grid during critical peak times, supporting reliable electricity supply and eliminating the need to build new carbon emitting “peaker” power plants.