A flooded lead-acid battery will be part of flywheel manufacturer Beacon Power’s latest 320kW hybrid energy storage project in Alaska.
The battery in the existing utility owned system is being used to help prove out the control system and application concepts of the Energy Storage System (ESS) in Anchorage.
Flywheel energy storage manufacturer Beacon Power will supply flywheels for a 320 kW hybrid energy storage project to support Alaska’s electricity grid.
The project, in partnership with Alaskan Chugach Electric Association, will combine one of Beacon’s 160kW flywheels with a flooded lead-acid battery for periods where additional power is needed to stabilise the grid during peak demand.
The Beacon flywheel provides the first-stage response to irregularities in the grid, while the batteries will provide power for longer periods.
Combining quick responding flywheels and batteries will help to stabilise and manage variable output from renewable energy sources.
The system which is fully scalable to add as many flywheels as needed will be tested to see if it can be scaled up to interconnect renewables with remote system utilities along the Alaska Railbelt, home to 70% of Alaska’s population.
The test system is expected to be in operation by the end of the year.
The Republic of Ireland has been chosen to house the first grid-connected 320 kW hybrid battery and flywheel project in Europe.
Energy storage company Beacon Power has estimated that it will build 40MW of energy storage systems by the end of 2015.
Beacon Power CEO Barry Britt said in a Bloomberg interview that the demand for flywheel storage will double over the next years due to the increase of renewable power plants that raise the need for grid stabilising.
Beacon Power, a manufacturer of large flywheel energy storage systems, has begun commercial operation at its 20 MW flywheel energy storage facility in Hazle Township, Pennsylvania.
During construction, 30 jobs have been generated on the site, and all materials for Beacon’s flywheels were fabricated in the US, it said.
Beacon Power has experienced some turbulence. A couple of years ago, it was one of several companies to file for bankruptcy protection after receiving stimulus or large loan packages from the federal government.
In 2012, Beacon Power Corporation sold its then only plant in Stephentown, New York, to private investment firm Rockland Capital. Rockland acquired the assets and certain agreements of Beacon Power Corp. and placed them in a privately-owned company named Beacon Power LLC.
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