Over the past decade, demand charges in California have been growing by more than 7% annually, according to Green Charge Networks CEO Vic Shao. In response, his Santa Clara-based company has been installing GreenStations, which store energy to offset demand charges, in municipalities and for companies like 7-Eleven and Walgreens. (Its first Walgreens installation was at a store in Yonkers, NY last month.)

Redwood City is the latest, installing a 30 kW system in its downtown and library, expected to save the city 50% in demand charges annually, he says. Over the next four months, California will get 21 more installations, with five soon announced in the Bay Area. His company first got started in 2009 as a government smart grid project; he plans to have 5 MW installed by the end of the year, and 1.5 MW is currently under contract in California and NY.