US flywheel firm Amber Kinetics and Hawaiian Electric Company (HEC) are set to test the capability of a flywheel system through a joint energy storage pilot project.
The project will use Amber Kinetics Amber Gen2© Model 25 steel flywheel system, at HEC’s Campbell Industrial Park generating station on O’ahu, Hawaii.
Amber’s innovative steel flywheel is a four-hour energy storage system capable of charging and discharging electricity for multiple duty cycles per day.
Tests will investigate the technology’s ability for renewable firming and peak energy shifting, flexible capacity, and ancillary services like voltage smoothing and frequency response.
Amber Kinetics says its system can support unlimited cycling with zero capacity loss over a 20-year-plus service life.
“Energy storage is essential to reach a 100% renewable energy future, optimising the use of Hawai’i’s abundant but variable solar and wind energy,” said Shelee Kimura, Hawaiian Electric vice president for corporate planning and business development.
“We are collaborating with a variety of partners to test a range of energy storage technologies.”
The project is jointly funded by Hawaiian Electric and Energy Excelerator.
Last month HEC began a utility-scale lithium-ion Battery Energy Storage System at the Campbell Industrial Park on Oahu.
The 1MW system, supplied by energy storage firm Altairnano, is joint venture between the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute at the University of Hawaii and Hawaiian Electric, with funding from the US Office of Naval Research.
The BESS project is among half a dozen energy storage demonstrations and pilot projects underway across the HEC service territories.
