PLEASANTON, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--State Compensation Insurance Fund (State Fund) and ENGIE North America today announced an agreement to build solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, energy storage systems, and electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across seven different State Fund locations throughout California. ENGIE and JLL jointly designed this comprehensive program to help State Fund embark on the next phase of its broader sustainability strategy.
ENGIE will install up to 11 MW of solar panels across six State Fund facilities spanning from Riverside to Redding that will generate approximately 18,000,000 kWh of clean energy annually. This energy production will offset approximately 14,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions — equivalent to taking about 2,700 cars off the road or planting about 204,000 trees each year. The energy storage systems — approx. 4,240 kWh of battery storage at four locations — will allow State Fund to store energy and avoid buying power from the electricity grid during the most expensive times of peak energy use each day.
Additionally, State Fund will install a network of more than 150 Level II and Level III electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at seven locations that will be used by fleet vehicles and available to employees. State Fund’s fleet currently includes eight battery electric vehicles (BEVs), three of which are new long-range BEVs that allow employees to quickly travel between State Fund locations while lowering their reliance on fossil fuels.
“Increasing our efforts and investments around sustainability initiatives will bring a number of benefits to State Fund customers and employees, our surrounding communities, and California as a whole,” said Andreas Acker, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer at State Fund. “This project with ENGIE and JLL is a huge step forward in our drive to reduce our use of fossil fuels, limit the load we place on local and statewide electrical grids, and improve overall air quality throughout California.”
This initiative is part of a broader sustainability strategy that State Fund has been rolling out for several years and will ramp up significantly over the years to come. Examples of State Fund’s sustainability efforts undertaken to date include:
- Installation of exterior and interior LED lighting and energy efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems at several locations.
- Installation of daylight harvesting systems at all owned buildings.
- Adoption of water-saving measures such as waterless or dual-flush toilets and low-flow faucets at most sites.
- A recent internal campaign to “ban the bottle” and a substantial reduction in plastic water bottle purchases for State Fund-hosted events.
Overall, eight State Fund buildings have become Energy Star® certified and State Fund has reduced the energy used in its owned buildings by 10 percent since 2016.
“ENGIE is honored to have been chosen by State Fund and JLL to help develop this ground-breaking solar, storage, and EV charging solution set to support State Fund’s mission serving communities across California,” said Gwenaëlle Avice-Huet, CEO of ENGIE North America. “We believe that demand for renewable energy programs that incorporate additional, leading-edge solutions like battery storage and EV charging represent the next chapter of sustainability impact that will also effectively help us transition to a zero-carbon future.”
Kyle Goehring, Executive Vice President at JLL, added, “Bringing ENGIE — known for its zero-carbon transition ambition, history of delivering successful projects, and its strong balance sheet — together with State Fund’s commitment to sustainability made tremendous sense. We are committed to finding the right energy partner for our clients and helping them achieve their ambitions.”
The initial phases of this comprehensive energy program have already begun at some sites, and the entire project is currently planned to be completed by the end of 2020.
To learn more about State Fund, visit StateFundCA.com.
About State Compensation Insurance Fund
Established in 1914 by the state legislature, State Fund is California’s most reliable provider of workers’ compensation insurance and a vital asset to California businesses. State Fund supports California’s entrepreneurial spirit and plays a stabilizing role in the economy by providing fairly priced workers’ compensation insurance, helping California employers keep their workplaces safe, and restoring injured workers. For more information, visit www.StateFundCA.com.
About JLL
JLL (NYSE: JLL) is a leading professional services firm that specializes in real estate and investment management. JLL shapes the future of real estate for a better world by using the most advanced technology to create rewarding opportunities, amazing spaces and sustainable real estate solutions for our clients, our people and our communities. JLL is a Fortune 500 company with annual revenue of $18.0 billion, operations in over 80 countries and a global workforce of more than 93,000 as of December 31, 2019. JLL is the brand name, and a registered trademark, of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated. For further information, visit jll.com.
About ENGIE North America
ENGIE North America Inc. offers a range of capabilities in the United States and Canada to help customers decarbonize, decentralize and digitalize their operations. These include comprehensive services to help customers run their facilities more efficiently and optimize energy and other resource use and expense; clean power generation; energy storage; and retail energy supply that includes renewable, demand response, and on-bill financing options. Nearly 100% of the company’s power generation portfolio is low carbon or renewable. Globally, ENGIE S.A. is the largest independent power producer and energy efficiency services provider in the world, employing 160,000 people in 70 countries. For more information on ENGIE North America, please visit our LinkedIn page or Twitter feed, www.engie-na.com and www.engie.com.