Energy Secretary Steven Chu has announced a $17.1 million loan guarantee has been finalized for the AES Westover facility. The loan guarantee will support the construction of a 20 MW energy storage system using advanced lithium-ion batteries. The AES project, located in Johnson City, New York, will help provide a more stable and efficient electrical grid for the state's high-voltage transmission network.

"The AES project helps reduce carbon emissions and strengthens our energy infrastructure by allowing for more renewable energy sources like solar and wind to contribute to the electrical grid," said Secretary Chu. "Bringing more efficiency and reliability to the grid will help cut costs for consumers and power a cleaner energy future."

"New York should be a hub of green manufacturing and a magnet for the thousands of high tech, good paying jobs that it will bring," said U.S. Senator Charles Schumer. "AES's new facility will, plain and simple, move New York towards that goal."

The AES technology can help reduce carbon emissions by 70 percent compared to frequency regulation provided by fossil energy suppliers. Traditionally, grid frequency regulation, which is needed to balance power generation and consumption on the grid, is maintained by burning additional fossil fuels at power plants. The AES project eliminates the need to burn fossil fuels and instead uses battery technology and new software that will provide the same regulation at a lower price. This advanced frequency regulation capability will allow renewable electricity generation to play a larger role in New York's transmission network.

The AES project will include advanced lithium-ion battery cells from A123 Systems, Inc., a leading supplier of lithium-ion batteries. The contained battery and related electrical systems are assembled, tested and validated in an A123 manufacturing facility in Hopkinton, MA.