Dive Brief:

• AES Energy Storage says its 20 MW energy storage facilities in the Dominican Republic helped provide grid stability during the two recent hurricanes.

• AES Energy Storage provided the storage systems to its affiliated company, AES Dominicana, an independent power producer that owns and operates 850 MW power plants in the Dominican Republic.

• AES says the battery arrays were able to provide critical services to the power plants, freeing them up to operate optimally during the storms.

Dive Insight:

Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated wide swathes of the Caribbean, leaving millions without power. In their wake, the storms are providing an opportunity to rebuild the grid with more resiliency.

Tesla and Sonnen have separately pledged to energy storage arrays and microgrids, respectively, in Puerto Rico to help bolster the grid there.

In the Dominican Republic AES Energy Storage installed two 10 MW battery systems at power plants owned by its AES Dominicana affiliate.

AES says those arrays were able to provide critical grid reliability services for the island by improving the efficiency and contributing to the stability of the Dominican Republic’s interconnected national electricity system (SENI).

AES’ Andres and Los Mina storage facilities, which entered service in February and May, were able to provide frequency control to the grid, allowing the power plants more optimally, the company said. All of AES Dominicana’s plant in the DR remained online during the storms.

“AES Dominicana’s energy storage arrays enhanced the Dominican grid during a most trying time, helping keep vital power resources online,” John Zahurancik, president of AES Energy Storage, said in a statement. “Not only does energy storage improve reliability of the grid on a daily basis, this experience demonstrates how it can add to overall resilience under extreme conditions.”