bright lights, big city--big battery - commercial energy storage systems

Advances in energy storage can help wind and solar power become the backbone of our power system, taking root not only in the Great Plains and the Mojave desert, but also on Park Avenue --
City Data Center.
Some of the most eye-catching demands of storage energy like digital bits are now coming from businesses and utilities in cities, turning them into an important test ground for a technology, many believe the technology is critical to the future of the grid. Cheap, multi-
Hourly energy storage-
A goal that has been pursued for a long time but has basically not been achieved
Variable energy sources such as wind and solar energy can be converted into fossil fuels or nuclear power plants that are now powered on demand.
The solar cell converts the energy of the sun into current, which the battery stores as chemical energy.
In the city, some energy storage devices distributed throughout the city will make the power grid more flexible and even more reliable.
Not only can batteries deliver energy from large centralized power plants, they can also provide electricity that is closer to where it is actually used.
When power plants try to cope with soaring air, large batteries next to city buildings or utility transformers can supply energy locally
There is air conditioning load in hot summer.
"Energy storage in the city makes a lot of sense because the city is where the load is and those loads move up and down," says Haresh Kamath, energy storage project manager at the Power Research Institute (EPRI).
"You can adapt to these changing loads by having more power generation in the city, but it's expensive and you need to put up with emissions, noise and fuel.
"So why is storage still a small part of the power capacity of the grid?
The main reason is the cost.
The low price of natural gas and the storage of the energy of the pumping power plant, pumping water uphill at night and releasing it during peak hours to run the generator set a low threshold economically.
This means that scientists and tech entrepreneurs are trying to bypass the low prices of existing technology in two ways: chasing technological breakthroughs and developing smart business models.
Some of these efforts are beginning to show hope.
58-peak shaving
Story luxury apartment building in lower Manhattan Barclays tower added an unusual thing to its equipment last fall: twomegawatt-
There is an hour battery in the basement, just like a few rows of commercial refrigerators.
Based on its ability to supply about 550-half
Building owner Glenwood Management reduced the kilowatt peak load in public areas by several hours, saving thousands of dollars a month.
It plans to install similar systems in three other commercial buildings this year.
In addition, the City University of New York will install 200 KW-
This summer, an hourly commercial prototype of a new zinc-nickel oxide rechargeable battery manufactured by start-
The company tested the installed city power for the second time.
Not like a battery bank.
Grid home, these high
The tech battery system does not provide power when the sun goes down.
Instead, they do something equally important: Save on utilities.
They solve the basic economic problems of energy supply, in which case commercial and industrial users pay higher electricity bills during peak hours
Demand time in the afternoon and evening.
By using batteries instead of the grid during peak hours, they avoid the cost of demand associated with the maximum power consumption of their customers.
For IHG in San Francisco, demand fees (also referred to as electricity bills) account for about 2 out of 3 of the monthly electricity bill, says Harry Hobbs, regional director of engineering and energy managers at six hotels.
To lower them, Hobbs has only one tool to use: Demand Response, or power down during peak times by adjusting the thermostat and other loads.
However, this may cause guests and staff to complain that the room is too hot or too cold.
Then, Hobbs stumbled upon the work of Silicon Valley startups --
Installed one of their refrigerators.
Battery size at Mark Hopkins San Francisco.
"When I first heard them talk about the product, I thought they were totally crazy," Hobbs said . ".
"This is very strange to me.
"Now, the manager has sold out: he ordered bigger batteries for 16 other hotels in California --
How many people can his supplier call?
And seek to expand to other countries.
Since its installation last fall, Mark Hopkins's first battery has reduced peak demand by 20%.
By adding it to other hotels, Hobbs thinks he can save $2.
2 million in 10 years
"We have not reduced the amount of fuel needed to complete this work," he said . ".
"But we are shifting the load and we are avoiding the dirtiest" peaker "factory used when the grid runs out.
"High energy cloud
Technical battery is not a prerequisite
The Barclays tower system installed and managed by Demand Energy is a common lead-acid battery, and the lithium-ion battery used by Stem is the same as the electric vehicle.
Innovation comes from the fashion strategy of big city big data.
Modern energy storage systems are connected to the Internet and the cloud
Analysis based on energy needs can determine the best time to store energy or power a part of the building.
"What we're able to do is basically build their own power plants, moving from passive users to controlling how and when they use energy," Shane Johnson said . " Vice president, customer service and product management, demand Energy.
Compared to utilities that install batteries on site, a typical commercial or industrial company hardly encounters red tape or, in industry terms, "behind the meter ". The cut-
More than just the need for economic meaning, and the support of building owners willing to accept external supportof-the-
General solution for building electricity demand.
According to the company's special requirements and current electricity bills, demand energy companies said that large energy companies
Users can get a return on investment in about five years.
At the same time, with the adoption of storage technology, utilities are also slowly put into use, which may speed up the adoption of this technology.
The California Utilities Commission recently asked Southern California Edison to consider 3% of its local capacity, or 50 MW, in the coming years.
While energy storage is expensive in general, it may end up better than installing new transmission equipment or removing the road surface to install thicker power lines to meet the city's growing demand for electricity.
Power company Con Edison for New York City will test the start-up effect of zinc air batteries later this year
Increasing Eos Energy Storage can enhance the local distribution network. A small-
Scale prototype will reduce the load on the transmission line during peak time and boost voltage, which may sag at the end of the distribution line.
Innovators in energy storage technology hope that a significant reduction in costs and the security of design will force more utilities to consider the technology.
Eos plans to launch a system next year that will be able to provide one megawatt of electricity for $160 per kilowatt for up to six hourshour.
For example, this is much cheaper than lithium-ion technology and has a design life of up to 30 years, much longer than conventional lead-acid batteries.
"Quite a few utilities are starting to understand that energy storage should be part of the kit, but the product is not exactly there," said Eos President Steve Herman . ".
"Before energy storage is cheaper and more efficient than existing solutions, it will be a question of intellectual curiosity.
"One battery can do multiple jobs and even bid services to the daily energy trading market to maximize revenue.
If enterprises can make the economy of energy storage work, we will all benefit indirectly.
Battery storage is available for individual buildings-
On-site wind and solar power will help clean the grid.
Kamath of EPRI says the closer energy storage is to the end consumer, the more reliable the whole system is.
For example, even during a power outage, the principle of an apartment with energy storage can provide some power services.
Francis Murray said that after Hurricane Sandy destroyed millions of electricity services, reliability has become a higher priority for grid planners, helping to stimulate interest in energy storage, new York State Energy Research and Development Corporation CEO (NPOs (NYSERDA).
He said: "When we rebuild in the city and reinvest in severely damaged areas, we need to subtly rebuild so that our infrastructure is more resilient and we can bounce back faster.
The battery in the basement will be a test of whether DIY energy storage has become a common use of urban high-rise
Rise: they will be anywhere if they can be there.
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