Virginia’s smaller, more rural network of electric service providers is the latest group to test the waters of long-duration battery storage as it awaits an infusion of funds from the federal government.
This fall, Old Dominion Electric Cooperative will receive major funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations to install a vanadium flow battery from Invinity Energy Systems on Smith Island in Maryland.
Exactly how much ODEC will get remains to be seen — the office is putting $325 million toward 15 projects around the country, including the Smith Island battery, but specific amounts haven’t yet been negotiated.
Old Dominion Electric Cooperative is the power service provider for Virginia’s electric cooperatives, the smaller utilities that provide energy for predominantly more rural areas of the state outside of Dominion and Appalachian Power Company’s service territories.
The coop’s new battery project, which will also be tested in four other locations around the country in coordination with the National Renewable Cooperative Organization, will be able to dispatch 700 kilowatts of electricity for up to 18 hours. The more common lithium-ion battery type typically can only dispatch power for up to 4 hours.
Source : Virginia