Dive Brief:
- Southern Co. has begun operating a 1 MW storage facility in Georgia which will help test the batteries' capabilities when paired with solar generation.
- Working with the Electric Power Research Institute and LG Chem, which supplied the batteries, Southern will evaluate the storage systems's technical and financial capabilities.
- The system is installed in Georgia Power's service territory, Southern's largest subsidiary.
Dive Insight:
A solar-plus-storage system in Georgia began operations about nine months after Southern Co. and EPRI announced the project. The 1 MW/2 MWh system uses LG Chem batteries and is designed to test how well the storage works to take on and discharge energy from the solar farm, alonside other technologies that are part of the project.
LG Chem supplied and installed the batteries and power conversion equipment, with EPRI's help with testing and analysis of data from the project. The system is in Southern subsidiary Georgia Power's service territory.
“Energy storage is a technology that can enhance grid reliability and make it easier to integrate renewable energy sources,” said Haresh Kamath, senior program manager at EPRI, in a statement. “The learning and experiences gained throughout the course of the project are beneficial for moving forward an integrated grid in the U.S. and worldwide.”
LG Chem said the project was strategically important to the company because of EPRI's role in the industry and Southern's size and significance. “The successful commissioning of this project is another example of LG Chem’s capability to collaborate in order to execute and deliver energy storage solutions for the market," said Senior Vice President Sunghoon Jang.
