About Citizens Storage & Microgrids
Since 1979, Citizens has been operating with the mission to make life’s basic necessities more affordable to those in need. Launched in the 2018, Citizens Storage & Microgrids seeks to develop profitable projects that increase the energy resilience of communities to better withstand the effects of climate change, while also generating revenues to fund additional community programs.
Citizens Storage & Microgrids develops, builds, owns and operates storage and microgrid projects, offering a fully integrated development, construction and financing model paired with the flexibility to meet the needs of partners and customers alike. Its projects include stand-alone storage, pairing storage with renewable energy sources, along with community and commercial microgrids. Citizens is also partnered with the Vineyard Wind offshore-wind project as manager of its Resiliency and Affordability Fund, which will support the development, construction, operation and maintenance of microgrid and other resiliency projects in communities impacted by the off-shore windfarm.
Citizens is a long-term partner for all our projects, not a short-term developer that moves on after construction is complete. Citizens works with experienced packagers and integrators to develop, build and operate successful projects. We take a simple approach to solve complex energy problems. Relying on our innovative model, Citizens is able to avoid project delays, budget overruns and performance issues to deliver projects on time and operate them effectively and efficiently over the life of the project.
The Citizens team brings over 20 years of business and operational experience designing, deploying, financing and operating complete energy solutions. The team also brings a deep understanding of power markets, customer needs, and local market challenges. By collaborating with partners and customers, Citizens is able to solve energy challenges and navigate through the rapidly changing energy landscape.
Citizens Storage & Microgrids Leadership
Brian Morrissey, Managing Director
Brian Morrissey is a Managing Director at Citizens Energy Corporation. He founded Citizens’ solar business in 2010 and is responsible for all solar related activities, including project origination, development, construction management, financing, and asset management. Citizens Energy is a national developer and owner / operator of distributed generation and small utility scale projects.
Prior to joining Citizens Energy, Mr. Morrissey was on the Global Power team at Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA), a leading energy consulting and research firm to international energy companies, governments, financial institutions, and technology providers. Prior to his work at CERA, Mr. Morrissey worked in GE Energy's central marketing and strategy group, and was an officer in the U.S. Army.
Mr. Morrissey received a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the U.S. Military Academy and an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Mr. Morrissey is a combat veteran and a registered Project Management Professional (PMP). He and his wife are the parents of two sons.
Stephen Bern, Director
Stephen Bern is the Director of Resiliency at Citizens Energy Corporation. He started in July 2018 and is responsible for all storage related activities, including project origination, development, construction management, financing, and asset management.
Prior to joining Citizens Energy, Mr. Bern was a Principal in National Grid Ventures’ US Business Development group, and brings over 20 years of broad operating and financial management experience. At NG Ventures, Mr. Bern was responsible for executing the company’s US energy storage strategy, which included building relationships and partnerships, creating financial models and managing the development of utility scale projects from concept through development to commercial operation. Mr. Bern was with National Grid for eight years in roles that included Mergers and Acquisitions, Transaction Support and FERC Finance Manager. Prior to joining National Grid in 2010, Mr. Bern was a Partner, Senior Financial Planning & Analysis Manager at CSC Consulting (now DXC Technolgy). Mr. Bern holds a BS in Accounting from Bentley University. He and his wife are the parents of three children.
What is Energy Storage?
Storage works by capturing electricity produced by renewable or nonrenewable resources and storing it for discharge when required. This allows users to come off the grid and switch to stored electricity, at a time most beneficial, giving greater flexibility and control of electrical usage.
The components of a battery energy storage system in a container solution:
Contact Citizens Storage & Microgrids with any questions you may have about storage, a storage project or pairing storage with a renewable energy source.
Contact Stephen Bern at sbern@citizensenergy.com for more information on Citizens Storage & Microgrids.
What is a Microgrid?
An integrated energy system consisting of interconnected loads and distributed energy resources. As an integrated system, the resources can operate in parallel with the grid or in islanding mode.
A high level overview of what a microgrid looks like--showing islanding mode capability:
