US-based Apel Steel has commissioned energy solutions provider ACE LLC Solar to install its energy storage system (ESS) at the company’s 340KW PV plant.
The utility-scale energy harvesting, monitoring and distribution system aims to move the PV plant off the grid to make metal manufacturer Apel Steel independent from the grid.
The ESS, called enerGStation, has a three-phase power at up to 2MW in increments of 100kW. Each integrated inverter is rated at 100kW and can be configured in parallel to provide a 2MW system. The system uses renewable energy when available and sufficient. Otherwise, it uses local energy storage from batteries to deliver the total energy demanded by loads.
The plant is designed to meet 98% of Apel’s annual power demand for its heavy machinery and plant operations. The ESS will save the Alabama company more than $3M on its electricity bills over the 30-year life expectancy of the system, according .
Suntech produced the solar panels and Tenessee-based ACE LLC Solar conducted the final installment of the PV plant along with its ESS.
