Advanced Microgrid Solutions

Advanced Microgrid Solutions (AMS), established in 2013, specialized in developing an AI-based software platform for the optimized trading and management of complex energy assets. The company was co-founded by Susan Kennedy and Jackalyne Pfannenstiel, both of whom brought extensive experience in public policy and the energy sector. Kennedy's background includes serving as Chief of Staff to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and as a commissioner for the California Public Utilities Commission. Pfannenstiel previously served as Assistant Secretary of the US Navy for Energy & Environment and chaired the California Energy Commission. This deep regulatory and legislative insight was foundational to the company's strategy.

AMS focused on providing energy storage solutions for commercial, industrial, and government building owners. The business model had two primary revenue streams: a share in the energy cost savings achieved by host customers and payments from utility companies for providing grid capacity. By aggregating distributed energy resources like battery storage systems, AMS created "hybrid-electric buildings" and virtual power plants that could reduce customer electricity bills by shaving peak demand and also provide dispatchable capacity back to the grid. The company would design, finance, install, and manage these energy storage systems for its clients.

The core of its offering was a sophisticated software platform, later known as Armada, which used artificial intelligence, deep neural networks, and advanced price forecasting to optimize the operation of energy assets in real-time. This platform managed when to charge batteries with low-cost grid power and when to discharge them to either lower a customer's peak demand charges or sell power back to the grid during high-demand periods. This dual purpose allowed microgrids to shift from being a passive infrastructure cost to a potential source of revenue for asset owners. In October 2020, the digital intelligence and software division of AMS was acquired by Fluence, a global energy storage technology and services company formed by Siemens and AES. The acquisition integrated AMS's AI-driven bidding and optimization software with Fluence's hardware and global reach, aiming to maximize the return on investment for energy storage and renewable assets worldwide.

Keywords: energy storage, artificial intelligence, microgrids, grid services, asset optimization, virtual power plant, energy management software, clean technology, utility-scale storage, distributed energy resources