The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) recently announced five U.S. and three international electric companies as finalists for the 2021 Edison Award. Presented annually, the Edison Award recognizes electric companies for their distinguished leadership, innovation, and contribution to the advancement of the electric power industry. In March, an independent panel of reviewers met virtually to evaluate the nominations and selected both the U.S. and international finalists.
“EEI’s member companies are committed to investing in and leading the transition to a clean energy future,” said EEI President Tom Kuhn in the press release. “The companies selected as finalists for the Edison Award have demonstrated exemplary leadership in the research, development, and deployment of new technologies and projects that allow them to deliver clean, reliable, and affordable energy to the customers and the communities they serve. They all are very deserving of this recognition.”
The winners of the 93rd Edison Award will be selected by a panel of former electric company chief executives.
The U.S. finalists include:
The AES Corporation – AES Alamitos Battery Energy Storage System. In 2020, AES completed a 400 MWh stand-alone battery energy storage system in California, one of the largest battery storage systems in operation in the world today and the first specifically selected to replace a natural gas peaker plant in the United States.
Edison International/Southern California Edison – Transportation Electrification Portfolio. Southern California Edison’s innovative suite of programs is designed to help accelerate the electrification of the transportation sector, with nearly $2 billion of funding approved in California to support electric vehicle adoption and the installation of more than 50,000 new charging ports.
Liberty Utilities – Sagehen Microgrid. Liberty Utilities is providing innovative customer solutions in a high-risk wildfire zone in California through the development of a standalone microgrid at UC Berkeley’s Sagehen Creek Field Station. This innovative microgrid directly benefits customers with clean energy and energy grid resiliency while avoiding resource-intensive hardening of 4 miles of power lines in an environmentally sensitive area.
Minnesota Power – Great Northern Transmission Line. Minnesota Power completed and energized a unique clean energy initiative that integrates U.S. wind power with Canadian hydropower, enabling efficient use of renewable energy and improving electric reliability in both countries.
Xcel Energy – Hydrogen Pilot. With the assistance of a Department of Energy grant, Xcel Energy took a significant step forward to develop new, carbon-free, 24/7 energy through a first-of-its-kind effort to build a pilot hydrogen plant.
The International Edison Award finalists are:
The AES Corporation – AES Hydro Complex, Virtual Reservoir, and Alto Maipo. In 2020, AES achieved significant milestones in Chile in its effort to advance the country’s aggressive carbon neutrality goals. AES expanded its Cordillera Hydro Complex with the construction of the Alto Maipo Project and the commissioning of the world's first virtual reservoir, combining run-of-river hydroelectric plants with universal-scale energy storage capacity. The construction of the Alto Maipo Project marks the largest renewable energy project in Chile.
ATCO – Fort Chipewyan Off-Grid Solar and Storage Project. In partnership with Three Nations Energy, ATCO completed Canada's largest off-grid solar and storage microgrid project, providing the remote Northern Alberta community of Fort Chipewyan with clean energy and significantly reducing reliance on diesel for electricity generation.
J-POWER – Osaki CoolGen Project. The Osaki CoolGen project is a three-step demonstration pilot designed to establish integrated coal gasification fuel cell combined- cycle with carbon dioxide (CO2) capture. Osaki CoolGen Corporation, founded by J-POWER, has conducted the demonstration of oxygen-blown integrated coal gasification combined cycle with CO2 capture during the project’s second step.