texas pioneers energy storage in giant battery - battery energy storage system

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Presidio in Texas has a connection with the United StatesS.
About 60 miles of electricity (100 kilometers)
From marl in the high desert to the banks of Rio Grande.
The power line was built in 1948, when Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean walked on the streets of Malfurion while filming the epic movie giant.
In the rugged area between Marfa, nearly a mile (1,600 meters)
Altitude and fortress, on the Mexican border, in the words of city administrator Brad Newton, this is one of the hottest places in the country.
This does create a situation unique to our geographical region, he said.
In this hostile terrain, relying on an aging transmission line makes the life of the fortress different from that of most parts of the United States.
Long-term power outages and power fluctuations are the norm.
The sultry weather in the dark is only part of the problem.
This situation has caused serious damage to electrical equipment, resulting in frequent reset of computer systems, which has brought troubles to families and continued concerns to the authorities.
Calvin Claude, president of Texas Power Transmission Co. , Ltd. , said the area is an important crossing point, letting them lose their computers is not a good choice for a joint venture between a subsidiary of US power and Warren Buffett's power company, Berkshire Haswa's Sino-US Energy Holdings.
ETT has just completed the installation of a system designed to solve the problem of fortress power. Texas-
Size of hope
The remedy is a battery in Texas.
Ultimately, it may play an important role in the widespread use of green power generation such as solar and wind. The U. S.
The $25 million system that is currently charging and will be put into use in April 8 will be the largest energy storage technology in the United States. The four-Megawatt sodiumsulfur (NaS)
The battery system consists of 80 modules and 8,000 pounds (3,600)
Each was built by Japanese company NGK. Locke.
On December, they were transported to Long Beach, California, and transported to Texas in 24 trucks.
The cost of the battery system includes $10 million, just to build the building it will live in and the new substation it needs. Sodium-
Sulfur batteries are not as famous as they are now-
Lithium everywhere
Ion batteries that power laptops and mobile phones, but by no means new.
Donald Sadoway, a professor at MIT, explained that the technology was actually invented in the United States.
He said Ford used it in an electric car in the 1990 s. âx80x9cThe all-
Ford electric escort is powered by sodium sulfur batteries produced in Heidelberg, Germany.
"It works, but the technology is too expensive.
They may have made hundreds of things they don't sell. âx80x9d (
Sadoway, an expert in battery design, actually had the opportunity to drive a concept car, which he recalled was a real explosion. âx80x9d)
American power (AEP)
In 2002, the Dolan Technology Center near Columbus, Ohio tested the fixed power supply of the NaS system for the first time and deployed it in a demonstration project in Gahanna, Ohio.
Since then, AEP has installed four NaS battery systems in West Virginia, Indiana and Ohio.
The NaS looks like a solution for Presidio.
In addition, it is part of a larger modernization project that includes the new 60-mile (100-kilometer), 69-
The kV transmission line from Marfa to Presidio, costing $45 million, will be completed in 2012.
As a result, the cost of the battery system will be shared by all 22 million customers at the Texas grid.
State legislature members, bureau officers, ETT, and AEP Texas have requested the grid operator Texas power reliability board to approve the project and mark it as a certification requirement.
The plan also needs to be approved by the Texas Utilities Commission.
Crowder said that even if the transmission line is modernized, the battery system is still critical to Presidio.
Although the latest lightning guards, controllers, and switches have emerged, the new line will not be immune to the violent storms that occur on the plain.
The quick response time battery system will have a quick response time to resolve voltage fluctuations and instantaneous power outages.
It can also provide uninterrupted power supply up to 8 hours.
Not only is this critical in the event of a power outage, but if Presidio needs to use electricity from the Mexican border, it ensures that the lights are on all the time, as the city sometimes does in case of an emergency, the switching process can take several hours.
Crowder predicts that as people in the power generation business focus on what ETT is doing, there will be more and more deployments in terms of wind energy and solar cell storage.
Crowder said the technology used as a utility is still fairly new in the United States.
Japan has been doing this for about a decade.
As we learn more, wind and solar will have the opportunity to improve their power economy as the price of mass production decreases.
Sadoway, a professor of materials chemistry at MIT, said many ngk systems do work in Japan.
But he says solar cells are still too expensive as backup batteries.
Sadoway says people accept battery storage on this scale, which is exciting for me.
Once the utilities have gained the experience that large storage facilities have to offer them, we will eventually roll out more cost-effective technologies
Good for all.