Beacon Power Corporation (Nasdaq: BCON), a company that designs flywheel energy storage systems, has signed a two-year agreement with the energy utility company National Grid (NYSE: NGG).
Under the agreement, the companies will share technical, performance and economic data associated with Beacon’s flywheel energy storage systems and their potential operational value to National Grid’s electricity transmission networks. Objectives of the agreement include National Grid’s evaluation of Beacon’s flywheel energy storage systems not only for fast-response frequency regulation, but also for wind-related ramp mitigation–another potential large-scale grid stability application.
"The positive attributes of flywheel energy storage–especially its
high efficiency, zero carbon emissions, and extremely fast
response–make it a technology of significant interest and one we are
keen to investigate," Stan Blazewicz, Vice President, Global Head of Technology for National Grid, said.
Beacon Power and National Grid will focus on the sharing of technical
information and performance results for Beacon’s Smart Energy Matrix,
the energy storage-based regulation resource that Beacon is now
operating under ISO New England’s Alternative Technologies Program.
"National Grid is one of the largest investor-owned utility companies in the world, with an extensive footprint in the United Kingdom as well as the northeastern U.S.," said Bill Capp, Beacon Power president and CEO. "Prior to this agreement, we collaborated closely with National Grid in 2006 and 2007 on our demonstration system in Amsterdam, New York, as well as more recently on three interconnection projects in Massachusetts and New York."
Ramp mitigation refers to the ability of regulation and reserve generation units to quickly compensate for a rapid system-wide change in aggregate power output caused by sudden changes in power production. As an intermittent resource, wind power generation often experiences rapid fluctuations in power output. As the amount of wind generation on the grid increases, many grid operators foresee the need to increase total regional ramping capacity to maintain proper energy balance.
Under terms of the agreement, Beacon will work with National Grid to forecast future increases in the demand for regulation capacity resulting from greater deployment of wind power. National Grid will also work with Beacon Power to define an optimal control algorithm for Beacon’s fast-response energy storage technology that would maximize regulation benefits on the grid.
In the U.S., National Grid delivers electricity to approximately 3.3 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island, and manages the electricity network on Long Island under an agreement with the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA). National Grid also owns over 4,000 megawatts of contracted electricity generation that provides power to over one million LIPA customers.
National Grid owns the high-voltage electricity transmission network in England and Wales and operates the system across Great Britain. It also owns and operates the high pressure gas transmission system in Britain and its distribution business delivers gas to 11 million homes and businesses.
Beacon Power Corporation’s primary business strategy is to commercialize its patented flywheel energy storage technology to perform frequency regulation services on the grid. Beacon’s Smart Energy Matrix, which is now in production, is a megawatt-level, utility-grade flywheel-based solution to provide sustainable frequency regulation services.
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