The Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) has given the green light to proposals to build a 24.5MW energy storage facility to help “secure grid stability and reliability in the face of increasing intermittent renewable energy”.
JPS, an integrated electric utility company and the sole distributor of electricity in Jamaica, said the facility would be built at the site of the country’s Hunts Bay Power Plant substation – subject to the approval of the Office of Utilities Regulation.
JPS did not reveal potential investment costs for the project. However, the utility said the facility would comprise “a combination of high speed and low speed flywheels and containerised lithium-ion batteries.” “Once approved for construction, it would become operational by the third quarter of 2018.”
“The energy storage solution will have power readily available, in the event that solar and wind renewable systems suddenly lose power due to cloud cover, reduced wind or other interruptions,” the utility said.
The facility “will also provide a much faster, cost effective and environmentally-friendly spinning reserve as an alternative to traditional generation spinning reserve which is required by the company”, JPS said.