Software created by Smarter Grid Solutions (SGS) is being used to control a 1 MW/1 MWh lithium-ion energy storage system in New York City as part of a demonstration project for Con Edison and on-site energy infrastructure developer GI Energy (GIE).
A further three 1 MW/1 MWh lithium-ion batteries are due to be installed in the city, with the devices contracted to Con Edison for five years.
All four batteries will be controlled by SGS’s ANM Strata distributed energy resource management system (DERMS) software.
The demonstration project will help Con Edison –the energy company that serves New York City and Westchester County, N.Y. –determine the value of using energy storage to manage constraints while opening up additional market value streams.
It will also help Con Edison understand how energy storage can improve grid resilience.
Storing energy is becoming increasingly important as utilities integrate wind, solar and energy from other intermittent sources. Balancing supply and demand is taking on a new dimension as electric vehicles and smart appliances connect to the grid, creating additional demand, but also providing opportunities to store electricity and generate new revenue streams from flexible, aggregated operation.
DERMS holds the key to unlocking the potential of renewables, electric vehicles and other distributed energy resources (DERs) while giving utilities and distribution network operators the tools they need to control smart grids.
Con Edison will pay a quarterly fee for priority dispatch rights to the batteries during times of high demand, while system owners will receive revenue from buying and selling the batteries’ electricity in the wholesale market and providing other New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) system services.
Brent Marshall, SGS’s CEO, said: “We are simultaneously optimizing the economic opportunity while respecting the physical constraints and operational needs of Con Edison. It’s a complex problem marrying the physical and the financial in this way, but it was essential that we solve this challenge to truly realize the stacked value potential of these energy storage deployments.”
Corina Solis, GIE’s Associate Director of Development, said: “This business model offers a fast opportunity to scale distribution-tied energy storage in Con Edison’s territory and beyond. The goal is to provide our utility partners with increased input into the location and dispatch schedule of our projects, while at the same time removing some of the siting and sizing restrictions that we run into as project developers. The result should be a more cost-effective solution for all parties involved.”
About SGS
Smarter Grid Solutions (SGS) is a leading provider of distributed energy resource management system (DERMS) software with the company about to exceed 1.3GW of renewable generation, energy storage and flexible load under control through 2019. With offices in New York, Glasgow, and California, SGS is a global solutions provider to distribution utilities and distributed energy resource operators.
About ANM Strata
ANM Strata is Smarter Grid Solutions’ world-leading enterprise solution for utilities and renewable generation operators. With its unique real-time control platform it delivers sub-second, precise control of renewable and other energy assets across a wide area from a centralized location.
About ANM Element
ANM Element is Smarter Grid Solutions’ local control solution managing a smaller number of low carbon technologies in a local area in both local grid connection management and behind-the-meter operating modes. ANM Element can also integrate seamlessly into an ANM Strata system for wider asset control.