Examples Of Our Work
Designing first-of-a-kind, proof-of-concept projects, Olivine has developed unique approaches, especially relating to behind-the-meter challenges. See some of our work.ELRP/CSEP
In 2021, Olivine was instrumental in helping California’s utilities – and PG&E specifically – to launch and operationalize the California State Emergency Program (CSEP) and Emergency Load Reduction Program (ELRP) in record time by leveraging its flexible and scalable DER Platform and program services team. Both programs engage Californians in energy use reduction during the peak periods of summer to help avoid rotating outages and maintain grid reliability – all while minimizing costs to customers. The Olivine team is expanding the ELRP program to include non-residential and residential customers, aggregators, exporting DERs, virtual power plants (VPPs) and vehicle-grid-integrations for each of California’s investor-owned utilities (PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E). For this program, Olivine provides meter data management, marketing, customer support, performance calculations, event notification distribution, and incentive disbursement. As of April 2022, Olivine is managing over 5 million residential and non-residential customers and over 300 MW of flexible load capacity under the ELRP programs for all three utilities across California. ELRP will be operational through 2025.
ComEd
In 2016, Olivine tailored an implementation of the Olivine DER Platform to manage the utility and wholesale demand response programs offered by Exelon’s companies PECO Energy (PECO) and Commonwealth Edison (ComEd). The Olivine DER platform administers these utilities’ Commercial & Industrial (C&I) Voluntary Load Reduction (VLR) programs and their existing residential demand response (DR) programs through utility data management system integration, program enrollment management, customer electricity usage reporting, customer DR event notification and response, customer event performance calculations, and financial settlement recording. Since going live in 2017, the Olivine DER implementation for ComEd and PECO maintains data for over 4 million customers, supports over 3,000 active VLR Program participants and over 13,000 PJM registrations, and supports nearly 1 GW of capacity.
PG&E DRET Rates and VPP
Olivine is assisting PG&E with implementing the Demand Response Emerging Technologies (DRET) Residential Digital Rate Study and managing the DRET Virtual Power Plant (VPP). As two of multiple DRET programs in California, these programs fund research on innovative technologies, software, and products that can enhance DR participation and grid reliability. The Residential Digital Rate Study provides a standards-based approach (OpenADR 2.0b) for third parties to receive accurate pricing for their residential customers. This dynamic price delivery method offers an improvement over current price-optimized load shifting strategies, where customers are required to program and update their rates manually into their smart devices. Olivine is also managing the DRET VPP, an aggregation of DR resources in PG&E territory with no more than 20,000 residential accounts and at least 500 kW of solar and storage. Olivine DER manages the digital form of multiple bundled electric rates and serves those prices daily to authorized third parties for the DRET Rates Study, providing enrollment validation and confirmation for no more than 20,000 residential accounts for the DRET VPP.
CalFlexHub
Olivine is one of Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory’s key partners on its CalFlexHub project, funded by the California Energy Commission, which establishes an interdisciplinary private-public partnership to advance technologies that enable flexible, grid-integrated distributed energy resources (DERs). CalFlexHub aims to establish the technological, economic, and regulatory instruments needed to access the flexible capacity in the growing ecosystem of connected demand-side resources throughout California. Olivine will leverage its Olivine DER platform and the Load Management Signal Prototype (LMS-P) System to lead the development, testing, and deployment of a communication system, or “price server,” that integrates directly with devices to deliver real-time digital price and greenhouse gas information.
XSP/SSP
Olivine served as the Program Administrator and Scheduling Coordinator of two PG&E Demand Response pilots: the Supply Side II Pilot (SSP) and the award-winning Excess Supply Pilot (XSP). SSP examined the participation of proxy demand resources (PDRs) in the CAISO wholesale day-ahead market; and XSP studied the ability of different types of DER to increase load when excess electricity supply was available on the grid, in addition to reducing load when supply was constrained. As the Scheduling Coordinator, Olivine managed meter data, calculated performance, and distributed incentive payments. XSP won the PLMA Pacesetter Award in 2019 as the first event-based load increase pilot in California and has helped spur a load shift product in CAISO markets as well as other utility pilots.
Electrify America
Olivine has partnered with Electrify America to create the largest virtual power plant (VPP) offering in CAISO, backed by direct current (DC) fast charging, and coupled with behind-the-meter energy storage. Electrify America has built the largest open DC fast-charging network in the U.S. While standalone chargers may have load patterns that add strain to the grid during higher carbon-intensive hours, when combined with market-integrated storage, these stations are able to maximize renewable energy usage and generate additional revenue by providing grid services. To facilitate this program, the Olivine DER Platform is integrated with CAISO systems, imports utility load data from the charging stations, and provides dispatch signals to the storage systems. These integrations allow Olivine to aggregate the locations into PDRs, monitor baselines, optimize and submit bids, and seamlessly control battery charge and discharge behavior. To date, 61 sites are participating in the program in the PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E service territories. This accounts for a total capacity of 12.8 MW available for dispatch during critical grid conditions. Since the project launched in fall of 2021, over 500 DR events have been called, shifting over 250,000 MWh of on-peak energy to lower carbon intensity off-peak hours.
BMW ChargeForward
Community Programs (SCP, CPA, Fresno, AEC)
Olivine has served as Program Administrator for multiple community programs in the state of California, providing a variety of grid services and opening the demand response market to commercial and residential customers, with many belonging to disadvantaged communities. These programs have included Lancaster Advance Energy Community (AEC), Richmond AEC, Clean Power Alliance’s (CPA’s) Power Response Pilot, the Fresno Energy Program Pilot, and GridSavvy Program by Sonoma Clean Power (SCP) – PLMA’s Thought Leadership Award winner for 2021. The AEC programs in Lancaster and Richmond utilized Olivine’s Distributed Energy Resources (DER) Valuation Framework and Model to help those communities optimize their DR strategies to meet emission goals while maximizing revenue streams for all stakeholders. Power Response and the Fresno Energy Pilot utilized the award-winning Olivine App to provide an easy-to-use, multilingual DR program participant user interface and to increase DR program participation by traditionally underserved communities. Power Response and GridSavvy utilized Olivine’s growing trade ally network to automatically control smart thermostats and electric vehicle (EV) chargers and improve DR event performance.
Electric Vehicle Grid Integration (AVTA, PUSD, Confidential Client, LA AFB V2G, SDG&E OPRA, PG&E EVCN)
Olivine has served as the Program Administrator for a number of electric vehicle (EV) grid integration projects. These projects have encompassed various capacities of residential, public, and fleet charging under different use cases. To assist with these projects, Olivine has used its proprietary VGI Valuation Model, E-Fleet Energy Model, Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) Model, and E-Fleet Management System. These projects include:
Antelope Valley Transit Authority (AVTA)
Using its proprietary E-Fleet Energy Model and E-Bus VGI Valuation Model, Olivine partnered with Antelope Valley Transit Authority (AVTA) on the California E-Bus-to-Grid Project to provide a simulated approach to evaluating the potential for AVTA’s new fully electric fleet to provide grid services. At the time, AVTA’s full fleet electrification was the largest project of its kind in the United States.
Pittsburg Unified School District (PUSD)
Olivine partnered with PG&E, Pittsburg Unified School District (PUSD), and Liberty PlugIns on PG&E’s PUSD Pilot Program and leveraged its E-Fleet Management System to control charging schedules and to provide PUSD with a low-cost, configurable electric fleet management system. The E-Fleet Management System provides bill management, reduces carbon emissions, maximizes charging from on-site renewable generation, and provides grid support services.
Confidential EV Client
Olivine used its proprietary Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) Model to provide an assessment of a confidential client’s electric vehicle service equipment (EVSE) installation project for a highly populated region of California.
Los Angeles Air Force Base Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) Pilot Project
Olivine provided regulatory, interconnection, and wholesale market integration guidance for the Los Angeles Air Force Base Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) Pilot Project, one of the first demonstrations of bidirectional EV charging in California.
SDG&E Optimized Pricing Resource Allocation (OPRA)
Olivine was a partner on San Diego Gas and Electric’s (SDG&E) Optimized Pricing and Resource Allocation (OPRA) project, one of the first to demonstrate the frequency regulation potential of EV and energy storage resources in California’s wholesale markets.
PG&E Electric Vehicle Charge Network (EVCN)
Olivine assisted with program design and management for PG&E’s Electric Vehicle Charge Network (EVCN) Program as it was used within PG&E’s larger Excess Supply Demand Response Pilot (XSP) Program. EVCN’s goal was to use electric vehicles (EVs) as a flexible load for decreasing load when energy demand exceeded supply and increasing load when renewable supply exceeded demand on California’s electric grid.
DRAM
In 2016, California’s investor-owned utilities (IOUs) launched the first ever Demand Response Auction Mechanism (DRAM) pilot. The project uses an open bidding process to enable the IOUs to secure enough demand response (DR) resources to meet their resource adequacy (RA) requirements for peak demand. Olivine is working to help demand-side resources achieve their grid services value through cost-effective integration. We believe a successful DRAM will catalyze new, clean energy resources and create a transformation of the electric grid.