A successful lead-acid battery energy storage project in the US state of Texas could lead to more batteries on the state’s grid.
Duke Energy’s pilot Notrees Wind and Battery Storage project was built near the town of Notrees with help from a $22m grant from the US Department of Energy and batteries from Xtreme Power.
The project is the US’s largest battery storage installation at a wind farm.
Between January 2013 and February 2014 the 36MW batteries, storing energy from the nearby 153MW wind farm, exported 10,000MWh to the state grid, which is run by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).
“The speed and accuracy of the system’s response during the pilot confirmed the benefits of the Notrees Battery Storage Project and ERCOT has made it a permanent market service,” said Tammie McGee, communications manager at Duke Energy.
The project’s success could also lead to more Texas battery storage in future, said Suzi McClellan, state affairs director at market consultancy Good Company Associates.
“There’s definitely a future there,” McClellan said. “The batteries stabilise the voltage, provide power when the wind stops blowing or charge up when the wind power isn’t needed.”
Analysts say battery energy storage could become a larger part of Texas’ electricity infrastructure, especially since the national Energy Storage Association has begun work with ERCOT on a market redesign.
