China Energy Storage Network News: Clean energy advocates say that energy storage deployment in New England has reached an important milestone: San Francisco-based energy storage developer Plus Power is building the two largest battery storage in the region to date. Energy project-a 150MW/300MWh lithium-ion battery energy storage project deployed by Carver in southern Boston, Massachusetts, named Cranberry Point Energy Storage; and a 175MW/350MWh lithium-ion battery storage project deployed in Gorham, Maine Can project.
The scale of these two battery energy storage systems is impressive, but what is interesting in this announcement is the contract signed by Plus Power: Plus Power won the two bids in the ISO New England forward capacity auction. , Which means that the company will now deliver a seven-year capacity contract from June 2024. These two huge battery energy storage projects are under construction to fulfill these contracts.
The forward capacity auction is a mechanism by which the independent system operator (ISO) ensures that there will be enough power to meet the peak power demand caused by extreme temperatures in summer and winter. Traditionally, fast-response small fossil fuel power generation facilities (mainly natural gas power plants) have been rewarded for providing this service. But more and more newer and cleaner energy technologies, such as demand response and battery energy storage systems, are replacing natural gas power plants.
The response speed of battery energy storage systems is even faster than that of natural gas power plants, and can more accurately track signals from independent system operators (ISO); in some areas of the United States, battery energy storage systems can be more accurate than natural gas power plants. Provide peak power cheaply because they can be charged when the electricity price is lowest, or from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind energy that have no fuel cost.
Plus Power won a bidding contract in a highly competitive regional capacity auction, which means that battery energy storage systems can now economically compete with existing fossil fuel power generation facilities in New England without receiving subsidies. A recent evaluation of the economics of battery energy storage systems and a proposed natural gas peak shaving power plant in Peabody, Massachusetts also found that battery energy storage systems are more cost-effective to meet regional energy demand during peak power demand periods Methods. This is good news, because if US states are to achieve their clean energy and emission targets, natural gas power plants need to be replaced by clean renewable energy power generation facilities and energy storage systems.
For Massachusetts, reducing carbon emissions is a very important benefit. When using renewable energy for electricity charging, the
Battery Energy Storage System is zero-emissions, while the natural gas peak power plant has serious pollution. As Massachusetts`s "Global Warming Solutions Act" regulates the construction and operation of natural gas power plants, battery energy storage systems are expected to occupy a large part of the electricity supply market. This is not only applicable to the large-scale grid-scale battery energy storage system developed by Plus Power; through energy storage projects such as Connected Solutions in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, the region has implemented small-scale battery energy storage systems on the user side. Transformation; for example, Green Mountain Power deployed a Powerwall battery energy storage system in Vermont; and Liberty Utilities implemented a battery energy storage system pilot program for its customers in New Hampshire.
The battery energy storage system deployed by Plus Power will also meet Massachusetts's Clean Peak Standard (CPS), providing additional economic incentives. The Clean Peak Standard (CPS) is the first such plan in the United States to increase clean and renewable energy generation. It will also help Massachusetts achieve its goal of deploying an energy storage system with an installed capacity of 1GW by 2025.
In addition to providing the required peak capacity, the Cranberry Point battery energy storage project will also alleviate the congestion of the transmission network in southeastern Massachusetts, and its congestion is expected to be caused by new solar power projects and offshore wind energy projects.
All of this bodes well for the New England region-but it needs to be clear that the region has only just begun this much-needed market transformation. Although the planned deployment of the Cranberry Point battery energy storage project is the largest battery energy storage system in Massachusetts so far, it can only replace about 10% of the capacity of the 1.7GW Mystic River natural gas power plant north of Boston that will be decommissioned.
Obviously, energy storage deployment in the New England region has a lot of room for development.
Source: China Energy Storage Network
