This report by Enel X (January 2021) shows how some of its leading commercial, industrial, institutional, and utility clients meet their energy challenges. While 2020 will be remembered as a pandemic year, it also marked a major, positive shift in the way energy is consumed, the authors write. Fossil fuel companies continued to lose market share as deployments of renewable energy projects accelerated. Even in oil- and gas-rich Texas, solar, wind, and energy storage projects dominated the queue to connect with the grid. The report highlights the effectiveness of: 1) Highly coordinated demand-response programs that protect the grid and local communities in hours of need; 2) Innovative solar-plus-storage initiatives that are replacing grid instability with energy resiliency, while also reducing GHG emissions; and 3) Ingenious fleet and infrastructure electrification efforts that are making carbon-free travel possible.
Key words: connected/EV vehicles, energy management, large building controls/automation, HVAC, smart grid, research & development