New type of mobile energy storage system based on Lithium-ion batteries, has the potential to store 500 kilowatt-hour of excess wind power, which otherwise would be lost.
The developers and researchers in the Pacific Northwest are currently testing the new product. Considering that the number of wind farms in the region is continuously increasing, the new energy storage system would be a valuable asset.
Although the capacity of the new power storage system is relatively small- 500 kWh would be enough to meet the demands of a dozen homes for half a day, it is mobile and can be placed directly on the site- regardless of whether it is a solar or a wind farm.
It is interesting that state requirements demand an increase in renewable energy production, however the storage of excess power is not fully accounted for. Not long ago, during one of the typical spring heavy rains, combined with snow melt, the federal agency marketing hydro and wind power generation, ordered to shut down wind power farms, due to oversupply of power coming from hydropower dams.
This is why, as John Mangan, spokesman for Powin Corp. of Tualatin, Ore., whose Powin Energy subsidiary developed the system, is certain that effective storage of energy is essential. He ensures that the battery pack is robust enough to handle multiple charge-discharge cycles.
The company investment is quite large, however no one doubts that the system will be efficient, effective and commercially viable.
Additional tests are still to be carried out by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The system will then be mounted at Energy Northwest’s Nine Canyon Wind Project near Kennewick, and then it will be moved to a city of Richland substation.
