Helping companies develop energy storage strategies requires an educational model. At the same time, you need to act quickly and take risks, which one can do most easily at this stage of the game.
Read it in FORBES: "Profit Pressures Push Power Companies to Merge, But Regulators Pose Wildcard"
By Ken Silverstein
“We have had gas and electric mergers for a long time but the electrics are motivated right now,” says Bill Kemp, founding director at Enovation Partners.
Cover Article in Consulting Magazine
Energy Overload article by Eric Krell
"Decreasing oil and natural gas prices, regulatory transformation and technological disruption means an increase in demand for innovative utility consultants ready to help clients meet the demands of a new energy consumer."
“To a large degree, it’s about helping people build new companies, new ventures, or new business models,” says Enovation Partners’ founding director Bob Zabors, regarding energy storage challenges.
In July 2013, we created a dynamic and close-knit partnership—a new kind of consultancy with a vision to help companies innovate and grow in a changing energy world.The industry is still in the early stages of fundamental change. As such, successful innovation will create increasing returns for companies. That will not come simply from implementing an “innovation process,” but rather from making informed decisions and actually doing things differently, and well. Our goal is to support incumbents, investors, and entrepreneurs all along the way, regardless of the traditional boundaries and structure of consulting firms.Over the last two years, this innovation model—featuring teams where every person has deep energy and infrastructure expertise—has helped to deliver great results for leading utilities, retailers, developers, EPCs, manufacturers, midstream, entrepreneurs, and private equity investors
In the last year, Enovation Partners’ own growth has been phenomenal: We’ve doubled our team, revenues, and client base… and we keep growing.
New Programs
A meaningful basis for discussing the costs and benefits of energy storage. We’re working with global investment bank Lazard to establish a levelized cost of storage—much likeLazard’s widely followed levelized cost of energy—for a set of common storage use cases to help investors, suppliers, and utilities make informed business decisions about storage. Utilities also benefit from our innovative energy storage workshops, delivered by storage experts, designed to help management teams define a coherent storage strategy and decide where and when to invest.
Advanced analytics to ensure gas system integrity. We’re partnering with Space Time Insight and others to apply data science and statistical quality control to natural gas integrity management—including diagnostics, risk-based compliance assurance, situational intelligence, and predictive analytics.
A “heat map” for distributed generation. We’ve developed models and tools to quantify the adoption path of distributed energy resources (e.g., solar, storage, asset-backed demand response) across a full range of tariff and regulatory regimes and to support investment decisions for developers, suppliers, and utilities.
New ways to access innovative technologies. Leveraging private equity and nonregulated investment experiences of our team, we’re helping utilities and PE firms build low-cost, highly effective capabilities to uncover and invest in promising energy technologies.
Integration strategies for DR, DG, and commodities to benefit commercial and industrial customers. We’re combining our understanding of regulation, markets, and technology to help retailers and utilities harness rapidly evolving behind-the-meter technologies and rules to create more value for C&I customers.
Carbon intensity strategies for generation fleets. We’re helping generators throughout the 111(d) process, from identifying which options make economic sense, to leveraging our team’s experience in project development to get iron in the ground. We’re helping define “gas beyond the grid” projects to reduce the use of oil. And we’ve helped launch community solar programs that accelerate adoption of PV in a low-cost model.
New People
Erik Anderson (Advisor), president of WestRiver Management, focuses on developing innovation platforms by providing integrated capital solutions… Brad Barton is the former Director of Commercialization, U.S. Department of Energy and an expert in new technology investing and management consulting… Ron Bertasi (Affiliate Director), former CEO of Southern Company gas and energy services affiliates, has deep experience in strategy and private equity… Wally Buran handles enterprise transformation, strategy implementation, and energy supply chain effectiveness… Matt Guarini, former CIO of National Grid US, drives strategy design and implementation, marketing, operational effectiveness, and global sourcing… Shaunt Hartounian (Advisor) is a leader in CNG and LNG development for transportation… Ken-Ichi Hino targets business development, growth, and acquisition strategies for distributed energy resources… Robin McConnachiesupports energy consulting teams for maximum effect… Mike Nolan focuses on global solution management, process design and implementation, and market strategy… Benjamin Ziser brings a background in international utility development and innovative grid automation
In addition to new partnerships with Lazard and Space Time Insights, our affiliation with the GasTechnology Institute has addeda distinctive capability with transformational work in natural gas and emerging technology. And last month we were delighted to see the American Gas Association and GTI’s CEO David Carroll begin the three-year “American” presidency of the International Gas Union.
It has also been a year of presentations and participation at some of the industry’s most important meetings: EEI’s Strategic Issues Roundtables, Financial Conference, and Annual Convention; the Energy Storage Association’s Annual Conference and Investment Conference; AGA’s Financial Forums; the World Gas Conference; Intersolar; SPI; NARUC; World Fuels; and many more, with more to come.
The Future
As we start our third year, it will be a critical one for the evolution of distributed resources, the utility model, innovations in finance, and the global gas industry.
Thanks for your support over our first two years, and we look forward to announcing many more innovations in the months ahead!!!
Space-Time Insight and Enovation Partners Collaborate to Bring RealTime Visual Analytics to Natural Gas Operations
Chicago, Il. and San Mateo, Calif., June 24, 2015 – Space‐Time Insight, the leading provider of next-generation situational intelligence solutions, is teaming with Enovation Partners, advisors to the energy and infrastructure industries focusing on innovation and growth, to provide advanced visualization and predictive analytics to natural gas transmission and distribution operators.
Natural gas is currently experiencing increased demand thanks to low costs, growing supplies, and reduced environmental impact compared to traditional power generation. In many regions, transmission and distribution pipeline operators are strengthening and expanding their systems, leading to new capex, income and shareholder value. While new build is on the rise, there remain significant T&D assets that are aging. Despite growing pressure for new levels of safety from customers and regulators, the frequency of recent pipeline incidents has remained constant and severity has been trending slightly upward.
Space-Time Insight combines data from many different pipeline sources to provide real-time spatial analysis and help companies anticipate system problems and maintenance – and provide not only compliance assurance to regulators and customers, but also advanced approaches to gas integrity management. This allows professionals in pipeline-related businesses to address their toughest challenges:
- Achieving maximum risk reduction per dollar invested through robust, dynamic evaluation of the health, criticality and risk of their asset portfolios
- Employing multiple data source for real-time intervention to avoid potential system incidents
- Reducing complexity, cost, and risk by implementing a consistent approach to asset condition assessment and reliability centered maintenance
- Deploying an end-to-end methodology for efficient and effective asset investment planning
Enovation Partners and its natural gas team offer a comprehensive integrity management assessment program and a solution focused on risk-based compliance assurance for construction, leak detection and other inspection functions. Now, in collaboration with Space-Time Insight, Enovation can enhance those programs with cutting-edge situational intelligence and predictive analytics.
“First and foremost, transmission and distribution operators have to provide assurances to the public, employees, investors, and regulators that they can manage their pipelines safely and effective,” said Matthew Guarini, Director at Enovation Partners. “Whether operators are in the upstream, midstream, or downstream segment, they require real-time analytics that can actually use the mountains of data available from their assets to identify and act on operational events and optimize planning.”
“To solve the most critical challenges that natural gas pipeline operators face, Space-Time Insight sought a partner with recognized strengths in the gas T&D industry and specifically integrity management,” said Ajay Madwesh, VP Utilities IBU and Solutions, Space-Time Insight. “The combination of Enovation Partners’ extensive gas experience and the real-time analytics capabilities of Space-Time Insight creates the precise knowledge suppliers need to provide safe, reliable and affordable service.”
About Enovation Partners
Enovation Partners, is an advisory firm focused on growth and innovation in the energy sector, serving leading utilities, suppliers and investors. We serve clients using multidisciplinary teams of seasoned energy experts — top tier strategy consultants, former industry executives, energy investors, and developers—that combine expertise in technology, operations, regulation and markets to produce real business results, rapidly For more information, please visit www.enovationpartners.com.
About Space-Time Insight
Space-Time Insight helps companies in asset-intensive industries make faster, more-informed decisions. Our real-time visual analytics applications correlate, analyze, and visualize large volumes of business, operational and external data, spatially, over time and across network nodes. Space-Time Insight’s award-winning software powers mission-critical systems for some of the largest companies around the world, including eight of the twenty largest US utilities, helping them reliably, efficiently and economically deliver services and rapidly plan for and respond to a full range of operating events. Space-Time Insight partners with leaders in the industry including Accenture, Esri, IBM, NEC, OSIsoft, SAP, Siemens and Unicorn Systems. Space-Time Insight is privately held and based in San Mateo, CA. For more information, visit www.spacetimeinsight.com.
Space-Time Insight is a registered trademark of Space-Time Insight Inc.
For more information:
Eric R. Blume
Enovation Partners, LLC
+1.202.281.8462
eblume@enovationpartners.com
Drew Smith
Blanc & Otus
415.856.5127
PGW Can Help Fuel an Industrial Resurgence in the Philadelphia Region
Philadelphia. November 13—At today’s meeting of the City Council of Philadelphia, Enovation Partners’ directors William Kemp and Todd Allmendinger testified about how to use the assets of Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW) to help drive economic development through public-private partnerships.
The Philadelphia region possesses potent competitive advantages, flowing from its proximity to the massive energy production of the Marcellus and Utica shales, its status as a major transportation hub both domestically and internationally (port, rail, trucking), its world-class educational institutions and workforce capabilities, and its long history of leadership in chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and other energy-related industries. Public-private partnerships could strengthen PGW’s capability for contributing more broadly and flexibly to Philadelphia’s future as a key player in America’s industrial renaissance.
Kemp and Allmendinger also provided examples of how other metro regions, such as Jacksonville, FL, and Brownsville, TX, have used public-private partnerships to move forward on similar gas-related economic development opportunities. Their panel included supporting testimony from Alan Mosley of the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce and Alicia Farag of the Gas Technology Institute.
PGW is the nation’s largest municipally owned gas utility. The testimony comes as Connecticut-based utility company UIL Holdings Corporation trying to keep alive its offer to purchase PGW, a move supported by Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter. City Council President Darrell Clarke recently announced that the council was against the sale and would not hold hearings on it.
Shale Gas, Collaboration, and Regional Growth
The revolution in natural-gas production can provide immense benefits to the U.S. economy, began Allmendinger. With diligent regulation of groundwater and methane-emissions risks, the overall environmental benefits should be substantial, too. Switching to natural gas from fuel oil and coal in power generation and from fuel oil, diesel, and gasoline in transportation and industrial applications, promise attractive economic and environmental paybacks.
The Philadelphia region should be at the forefront of that natural-gas revolution, said Allmendinger. Compared with many other cities around the country, however, the region’s progress on capturing natural-gas-driven benefits is modest. For instance, said Allmendinger, Jacksonville, FL, doesn't enjoy the proximity to gas reserves, infrastructure, industrial base, or educational resources that Philadelphia does. But it is using its municipal utility and harbor as platforms for sustained growth, creating partnerships with businesses, attracting capital and investment, bringing together labor, capital, customers, and businesses, and positioning Jacksonville to become an East Coast market leader in small-scale LNG and compressed natural gas (CNG).
- Three consortia of energy and financial players are competing to build LNG production and distribution terminals in Jacksonville, aimed specifically at serving the rail, maritime, and heavy-duty trucking industries. The regional market can support at least two such facilities.
- Local municipalities and UPS are ordering hundreds of natural gas-fueled vehicles.
- Shipbuilders and maritime operators are building LNG-fueled ships and plan to export LNG to utilities and industrial customers in the Caribbean region, as a superior alternative to diesel or bunker fuel oil.
Together, these projects represent several hundred million dollars in direct investment and hundreds of jobs in engineering, construction, terminal operations, and transportation.
Pennsylvania Growth in Natural Gas and LNG as Fuels
Another support for the Philadelphia region’s economic renaissance, said Allmendinger, is the fact that new sources of low-priced natural gas are displacing diesel fuel for transportation and high-horse-power applications—in trucking, waste management, public transportation, rail, marine, and mining.
Allmendinger pointed to the CNG fueling-station construction effort at Pennsylvania’s public transit agencies, approved by the state’s Public-Private Partnership (P3) Board. The private partner will design, build, finance, operate, and maintain the stations; many Pennsylvania companies want to participate. PGW President and CEO Craig White recently joined Governor Tom Corbett in opening Philadelphia’s first public CNG fast-fill pumps.
While the export of LNG from the Port of Philadelphia may face challenges, the Port’s activities will require LNG as a fuel, said Allmendinger – for marine vessels, locomotives, industrial, and off-grid power generation projects. This will require storage, distribution, and fueling operations. Several Pennsylvania energy companies are interested in expanding their operations into these areas.
To meet expanding LNG and CNG needs across the nation, natural gas utility companies are accelerating large-scale replacement programs to upgrade infrastructure while at the same time implementing technologies and practices to create operational efficiencies, according to related testimony by Alicia Faraq, senior manager for the data and integrity management research program at the Gas Technology Institute. PGW has supported the development of next-generation technologies and business practices that create operational efficiencies while maintaining public safety and ensuring long-term system integrity, said Faraq.
The market response to the growing advantages of LNG and CNG is accelerating, said Allmendinger. PGW could leverage its physical assets and human resource capabilities to gain a significant and profitable share of this market. “To move as quickly as needed and field the required marketing expertise, PGW would be well advised to seek suitable partners in a P3 structure,” said Allmendinger.
In response to questions by council members about how to structure public-private partnerships, Kemp testified that PGW should bring to the negotiating table its capabilities and objectives and work out with its private partners the ownership and operating structure that would succeed best in the marketplace. The structure would be fitted to the opportunity. Agile public and private companies make these types of strategic partnering decisions as a normal course of business.
"Southeastern Pennsylvania should seize this historic opportunity to capitalize on its unique geographic, logistical, human, and manufacturing endowments, and use public-private partnerships to take full advantage of the natural gas revolution in its backyard.”
About Enovation Partners
Enovation Partners is an energy and infrastructure consultancy using flexible teams of high-level, deeply experienced partners and principals to work directly with company executives to take advantage of changes and opportunities in the industry.
About Gas Technology Institute
GTI is the leading research, development, and training organization addressing energy and environmental challenges to enable a secure, abundant, and affordable energy future. For more than 70 years, it has provided economic value to the natural gas industry and energy markets by developing technology based solutions for industry, government, and consumers. www.gastechnology.org
Link to testimony
PRESS RELEASE
Eric R. Blume
Director of Communications
eblume@enovationpartners.com
+1.202.281.8462