SunEdison signs 5 MW of storage contract with Ontario grid

Dive Brief:
SunEdison signed a 10-year agreement with Ontario's Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) on Dec. 10 to supply 5 MW/20 MWh of energy storage to the province, Renewable Energy World reports.
The project, which will use Imergy’s vanadium redox flow battery technology, is designed to analyze how energy storage can smooth the power flow from wind and solar resources, deferring expensive system upgrades.
It is the first commercial large-scale, grid-connected energy storage project for Missouri-based SunEdison.

Dive Insight:

Ontario’s grid operator, the Independent Electricity System Operator (ISEO), took another step toward integrating energy storage into the province’s grid with the signing of a 10-year supply agreement with SunEdison.

Late last month, IESO through a competitive solicitation selected nine proposals for energy storage solutions from five companies representing a total of 16.75 MW.

In addition to SunEdison, the companies are Ameresco Canada, NextEra Canada Development & Acquisitions, NRStor, and Baseload Power Corp.

The proposals include three different storage technologies: solid battery (four projects, 8 MW); flow battery (four projects, 7 MW); and compressed air (one project, 1.75 MW).

ISEO estimates the costs associated with the projects to be about $9 million per year, and is exploring how storage can be used to shift load and integrate renewable into the province’s grid.

Earlier this month, a municipal utility in Ontario, Oshawa Power and Utilities Corp., in a partnership with Japanese manufacturer Tabuchi Electric began a pilot program to test storage systems as a means of integrating solar panels on homes in the city.

In the SunEdison project, which moved from contract offer to signed contract with IESO on Dec. 10, the grid operator will use data from the energy storage project to analyze how storage can be used to smooth the power flow from wind and solar, defer expensive system upgrades, and ultimately shape the future of its grid.

"By integrating energy storage into their grid, the Ontario IESO gains access to a powerful new tool that has the potential to transform how it operates the power system," Tim Derrick, SunEdison general manager of Advanced Solutions, said.

SunEdison plans to start construction of the project during the first half of 2017, with completion targeted for later that year.