Three years in a row must mean something. Enel X, the advanced energy services arm of the Italian Enel Group, won the 2022 Environment+Energy (E+E) Leader Awards program’s Top Project Award for its solar-plus-storage microgrid installation for the Martha’s Vineyard Transit Authority. The win marks Enel X’s third Top Project Award from E+E Leader since 2020. The E+E Leader Awards program recognizes excellence in projects implemented by companies that improved environmental or energy management and provided cost savings. Enel X’s win was attributed to the microgrid’s ability to deliver on its main goals: energy dependability, resiliency, cost viability, renewable energy access, and circularity.

Completed in May 2021, the state-of-the-art microgrid includes a solar carport that charges the VTA’s fleet and a 1.5 MWh battery storage system for always-on dependability, which is crucial for island communities like Martha's Vineyard that face more extreme weather. The project, along with the 16 e-buses provided by Enel X that make up half of the VTA’s total bus fleet, will play an enabling and crucial role in the transit authority's quest to fully electrify its fleet by 2027.

The microgrid’s battery acts as a behind-the-meter resource, enabling the VTA to sell energy back to the grid. Over its lifetime, this project is estimated to generate $1 million from the battery’s market revenue. It has a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) locked in, including 30% savings for power produced over the next two decades. The project is a public-private partnership with multiple funding sources, including $2 million from a partnership between Enel X and VTA and another $2 million financed by the Federal Transit Administration, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center.

“To propel the energy transition forward, we must commit to readily available, cost effective and environmentally responsible solutions,” said Philip Martin, Vice President of Energy Storage at Enel X North America. “Our project is a prime example of how to achieve that objective and is expected to help the VTA reduce costs for their transit ridership while avoiding 36,000 tons of CO2 emissions over the next ten years.”

In North America, Enel X has around 4,500 business customers, spanning more than 35,000 sites and representing approximately $10.5B in energy spend under management. Enel X North America has approximately 4.7 GW of demand response capacity, over 140 battery storage projects that are operational and under contract. Enel X advises large energy users on energy procurement, sustainability, and risk management, and has completed 65,000 energy procurement events including 3,500 MW of long-term renewable energy contracts.