Duke Energy, LG Chem and Greensmith will team up to build a battery-based energy storage system in Ohio, designed to enhance reliability and increase stability on the electric power grid.
Duke Energy, the nation's largest electric utility, currently owns nearly 15 percent of the grid-connected, battery-based energy storage capacity in the U.S., according to independent research firm IHS Energy.
The new 2-MW storage project will assist in regulating electric grid frequency for PJM, the transmission organization that powers much of the eastern U.S.
The system will be built at Duke Energy's retired W.C. Beckjord coal-fired power plant in New Richmond, Ohio, and is expected to be operational by late 2015.
It continues Duke Energy's exploration of energy storage solutions and their potential for broad adoption.
"Fast-responding energy storage is recognized for the tremendous benefits it provides to grid operations, because it can instantaneously absorb excess energy from the grid or release energy," said Phil Grigsby, Duke Energy's vice president of commercial transmission. "Delivering that power in seconds, as opposed to a power plant that could take 10 minutes or more to ramp up, is the unique value the battery system provides to grid operators.
"This accurate and rapid response will help improve the overall reliability and economic efficiency of the grid. It also demonstrates the capabilities of new technologies and the potential for future applications, such as large-scale integration of renewable energy onto the grid," Grigsby added.
The Ohio project adds to Duke Energy’s installed base of commercially operating energy storage systems. With the addition of the new project, the company will operate a total of 4 MW of energy storage at Beckjord, where a separate 2-MW storage system already exists.
Duke Energy also operates one of the nation's largest battery-based energy storage and power management systems – a 36-MW unit completed in 2012 in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy – at the utility’s Notrees Windpower Project in Texas.
LG Chem will deliver the Ohio project’s integrated operating system, comprised of advanced lithium-ion batteries.
Greensmith will provide intelligent energy storage control and analytics software, and system integration services.
Parker Hannifin will provide a 2-MW power conversion inverter.
