Alameda Municipal Power Partners with Energy Storage Company

Aug. 9, 2018

o test the benefits of energy storage, Alameda Municipal Power is partnering with Amber Kinetics, a clean energy technology company.

Amy Fischbach

Renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind, can be intermittent, but through energy storage technology, the energy can be used at any time, To test the benefits of energy storage, Alameda Municipal Power (AMP) is partnering with Amber Kinetics, a clean energy technology company. AMP serves 34,000 customers in the city of Alameda, California.

Amber Kinetics invented a technology that extends the duration and the efficiency of flywheel systems from minutes to four hours. Also, the system has no degradation or wear and tear over time unlike lithium ion energy storage systems, and it can be recycled after its 30-year life. As a result, the Kinetic Energy Storage System (KESS) can be used for a variety of utility-scale applications.

For the project, Amber Kinetics is connecting the KESS to AMP's electricity grid in Alameda Point. AMP’s partnership with Amber Kinetics allows the company to demonstrate the energy storage system on an active distribution system, according to the company.

“We’re always looking for opportunities to support new technologies that may have broad applications in the energy sector,” said AMP General Manager Nicolas Procos. “We’re proud that Amber Kinetics chose Alameda and AMP to be its testing ground.”

Ed Chiao, co‐founder and CEO of Amber Kinetics, said AMP has been a visionary partner to work with at our Alameda Test Site.

"As we have commercialized our second-generation flywheel, AMP has gone the extra mile to facilitate our testing in a safe and well-regulated manner on their grid," Chiao says. "We could not have picked a better utility to partner with on advancing our energy storage technology.”

About the Author

Amy Fischbach | Amy Fischbach, EUO Contributing Editor

Amy Fischbach is the Field Editor for T&D World magazine and manages the Electric Utility Operations section. She is the host of the Line Life Podcast, which celebrates the grit, courage and inspirational teamwork of the line trade. She also works on the annual Lineworker Supplement and the Vegetation Management Supplement as well as the Lineman Life and Lineman's Rodeo News enewsletters. Amy also covers events such as the Trees & Utilities conference and the International Lineman's Rodeo. She is the past president of the ASBPE Educational Foundation and ASBPE and earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from Kansas State University. She can be reached at [email protected].