US utility Dominion Energy is developing four energy storage projects to pave the way for integrating more renewables and improving grid reliability.
The four utility-scale pilot projects, totalling 16MW, are the largest projects of their kind in the US state of Virginia.
The projects are enabled by the Grid Transformation and Security Act of 2018, which allows Dominion Energy to invest in up to 30MW of battery storage capacity.
The pilots will enable Dominion to analyse the use of energy storage for grid stability support as an alternative to traditional upgrades of grid equipment, such as transformers.
The four proposed Central Virginia-based lithium-ion battery storage installations will cost approximately $33m to construct and will provide key information on distinct use cases for batteries on the energy grid.
Pending SCC approval, the pilots will be evaluated over a five-year period once operational as currently expected in December 2020.
Two battery systems totalling 12MW at the Scott solar facility in Powhatan County will demonstrate how batteries can store energy generated from solar panels during periods of high production and release energy during periods when load is high or solar generation is low.
The battery will also help optimise the power produced by the solar facility.
A 2MW battery at a substation in Ashland will explore how batteries can improve reliability and save money on equipment replacement by serving as an alternative to traditional grid management investments such as transformer upgrades.
Another 2MW battery at a substation in New Kent County serving a 20MW solar plant will show how batteries can help manage voltage and loading issues caused by reverse energy flow, to maintain grid stability.
Dominion generation construction vice president Mark Mitchell said: “Energy storage is critical to providing continued reliability for our customers as we expand our renewable portfolio.
“Battery storage has made significant strides in recent years, in both efficiency and cost. These pilot projects will enable Dominion Energy to better understand how best to deploy batteries to help overcome the inherent fluctuation of wind and solar generation sources.”
Separately, Dominion has issued a request for proposals seeking bids for up to 500MW of solar and onshore wind generation in the state.