by Jbs031810 e3 — March 19, 2010—Utilities in several states have recently embraced new energy storage technologies as part of the deployment of advanced Smart Grids, according to a news report from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).
In Ohio, International Battery will supply large-format lithium-ion batteries for the first-of-its-kind Community Energy Storage (CES) system, a distributed energy storage system developed by S&C Electric Company for American Electric Power (AEP).
AEP Ohio’s gridSMART Demonstration Project, funded in part by a $75 million DOE grant using Recovery Act funds, will be deployed to 110,000 of the utility’s customers near Columbus. The CES systems will be added to certain AEP circuits to provide improved distribution line efficiencies, local back-up power in case of outages, better integration of community renewable power, and support for plug-in electric cars.
AEP has also been testing the use of large-scale sodium-sulfur (NaS) batteries for energy storage on the grid, with installations in West Virginia, Indiana, Ohio and West Virginia. California is following suit, as the California Energy Commission (CEC) has awarded $2 million to Pacific Gas and Electric Company for a 36-month NaS battery demonstration project.
The utility will invest an additional $13 million in the 4-MW system, which will have a storage capacity of 28 megawatt-hours. Once installed and operating, this will be the largest stationary battery energy storage system in California. It too is seen as a key to the future use of Smart Grid technology, and as a way to integrate renewable energy sources into the grid, notes EERE.
In the application of a different technology, the Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA) and Ice Energy announced in January a 53-MW project using ice energy storage to provide utility-scale distributed energy storage. Ice Energy’s products produce ice during off-peak hours and use it for cooling commercial buildings during peak hours.
See also “SCPPA chooses Ice Energy storage solution to reduce California’s peak demand” on FMLink.
