Dive Brief:
- The PJM Interconnection will add a 60 MW networked energy storage battery system built by NEC Energy Solutions (NEC), in partnership with Amergin Energy and Akula Energy Ventures. The system, designed for fast-response frequency regulation, is expected to be operational by mid-2016.
- Amergin Energy will be the owner-operator of the three 20 MW installations at undisclosed locations in the PJM service territory that covers the Mid-Atlantic region from Illinois to Maryland and from Pennsylvania to Virginia.
- The project will add to the 110 MW in PJM’s frequency regulation services market. PJM was the first independent system operator to offer significant returns for quick-start, fast-ramp power from batteries or other load control systems that substitute for power plant ramping to stabilize grid frequency. Payments have averaged $40 per MWh to $50 per MWh for capacity plus performance since 2012.
Dive Insight:
PJM now has approximately 100 MW in its frequency regulation market pipeline. Startup Alevo is also planning 200 MW of frequency regulation for PJM and Solar Grid Storage (SGS), just purchased by SunEdison, is planning another 100 MW.
SGS created a successful business model by offering a plug-and-play storage product to solar projects for free and using its advanced inverter technology to sell the project’s stored power into the PJM frequency regulation market. SunEdison’s 2015 development portfolio of between 1.6 GW and 2.3 GW and its international project pipeline of 8 GW offers a broad marketplace for battery storage where battery storage can find comparable revenue opportunities.
Tesla’s newly announced utility-scale storage is thought to not be well-suited for frequency regulation because it lacks the necessary fast-ramp, high power discharge capability. NEC’s A123 batteries already provide 54 MW of frequency regulation to PJM under the management of AES Energy Storage.
