Groundbreaking Thermal Energy Storage Heat Pump Network Coming to Taunton

Mansfield, Massachusetts, July 19, 2022 -​ Stash Energy (Fredericton, NB) and Beacon Climate Innovations (Somerville, MA) with support from an InnovateMass award through the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (Boston, MA), working in close collaboration with the Taunton Municipal Light Plant (TMLP), Taunton Housing Authority (THA) and Energy New England (Mansfield, MA) will be retrofitting the heating and cooling systems for as many as 25 dwellings at two low income facilities in the City of Taunton with novel thermal storage heat pumps. These units will be interconnected to provide TMLP with an aggregated flexible load resource to reduce peak loads while supporting grid resilience and decarbonization. With the changeover, residents of the apartments can expect a more comfortable living area through the better climate control, improved air quality and quieter operation. The Taunton Housing Authority and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will realize an estimated 50% savings in energy costs. The Taunton Municipal Light Plant will gain access to 50 kW of flexible load and energy storage capacity of 500 kWh per day.

The Stash M1 heat pumps store thermal energy for heating and air-conditioning during off-peak hours and discharge that energy during peak hours, when electricity is more expensive or when there is too much demand on the grid. By shifting electricity demand away from peak hours, Stash Energy reduces customers’ energy costs, provides greenhouse gas avoidance, and offers flexibility to utilities on their peak power management and renewable energy resource optimization. Installation and commissioning of the systems will be performed by a credentialed local contractor with extensive heat pump installation experience. Stash will provide them with appropriate training. Beacon Climate Innovations will manage the project locally. This initial installation of Stash heat pumps is expected to reduce electric consumption by 110 MWh and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 80 Metric Tons per year. The Taunton Housing Authority is responsible for another 15 facilities comprising of almost 600 residences across the City. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has 146,000 such homes. It is estimated that there are over 2.4 million residences of this nature across the United States.

Installations of the Stash Energy heat pumps are expected to begin in Fall 2022. The project will run through early 2024, “Space heating and air-conditioning represent over 50% of residential energy demand and are a major driver of residential energy bills and greenhouse gas emissions. We’re looking forward to demonstrating our unique product in Taunton to help reduce the energy costs and carbon footprint of low-income housing communities,” says Jamie Davison, President, and CEO of Stash. “We know that heating and air-conditioning costs can be a burden for families, and it’s important to Stash that access to our product is equitable. That is why we are interested in working with housing authorities and housing cooperatives to implement this project that can serve as a blueprint across the state”, says Dan Curwin, Director of Business Development and Regulatory Affairs of Stash.

“Replicated across the country, this project represents several Giga-watt hours of energy savings and flexible load along with millions of metric tons in greenhouse gas reduction. Then there are all the local economic benefits that accrue through the training, installation, and materials. It’s a powerful example of the untapped carbon-free energy resources available to us in the battle against climate change when we apply some innovation, cooperation, and agility to a community setting”, reflects Beacon Climate Innovations Principal, Moneer Azzam.

“Partnering with these innovative companies and our community is something we strive for in our daily operations. With the addition of this novel technology, we hope that the space saving units provide more comfort, while giving our customers increased access to energy efficiency to reduce their consumption and energy bills. We look forward to the program’s success and hope that this is something we can expand on in the future”, said Kimberly Holmes, General Manager TMLP.

“Energy New England (ENE) was pleased, through our partnership with the Resilient Energy and Infrastructure Consortium at Greentown Labs, for the introduction to Stash and other emerging climate tech firms that are incubating there. We are proud to be teamed with Stash, Beacon Climate Innovations, the Taunton Municipal Light Plant, and the Taunton Housing Authority in deploying and assessing this technology. We are also grateful for the support from Senator Ed Markey and his office, in seeing the potential of these types of programs, and looking ahead to use the savings from these programs, through the HUD process and continuing the programs with other housing authorities. The energy efficiency, cost savings and greenhouse gas reduction make these types of projects a success”, said John G. Tzimorangas, President and CEO of Energy New England.

ABOUT STASH ENERGY
Stash Energy, founded in 2017, is Canadian startup developing thermal energy storage heat pumps. These heat pumps provide substantial savings in energy use, energy costs, and reduced greenhouse gases over traditional heating oil or electrical furnaces, electric baseboards, or conventional heat pumps in homes. www.stash.energy/en/

ABOUT BEACON CLIMATE
Beacon Climate Innovations is based at Greentown Labs in Somerville Massachusetts is a project-development-management-consultancy firm dedicated to facilitating community-centric decarbonization and climate resilience projects through thoughtful application of existing and emerging climate technologies. It will be serving as the local project manager. www.beaconclimate.com

ABOUT TAUNTON MUNICIPAL LIGHT PLANT
The Taunton Municipal Lighting Plant (TMLP) serves over 39,000 customers in Taunton, Raynham, Berkley, North Dighton and sections of Lakeville and Bridgewater. Our mission is to provide reliable, competitively priced services to our community in a sustainable, environmentally sensitive, and customer-centric manner. General Manager, Kimberly Holmes; Commissioners; Mark Blackwell Sr., Peter Corr, and Timothy Hebert. www.tmlp.com

ABOUT TAUNTON HOUSING AUTHORITY
The Taunton Housing Authority (THA) was established in 1948 to provide safe, decent, and affordable housing opportunities in the City of Taunton. It operates 17 facilities with over 600 dwellings and approximately 1,000 residents in the city. In some facilities, the residents are responsible for certain utilities. The THA is responsible for the balance. The organization is committed to providing opportunities to people who experience barriers to housing because of income, disability, or special needs, in an environment that preserves personal dignity, and in a manner that maintains the public trust. www.tauntonhousing.com

ABOUT ENERGY NEW ENGLAND (ENE)
ENE is the largest wholesale risk management and energy trading organization serving the needs of municipal utilities in New England. ENE works with numerous businesses, residents, and utilities to help promote the principles of conservation, efficiency, and environmental stewardship, and advances the many benefits available through integrated sustainability planning – including home energy audit programs, electric vehicle programs, wholesale energy procurement and risk management programs, regulatory and lobbying services. www.ene.org