Beacon Power Corporation (NASDAQ: BCON) has announced that its first-ever Smart Energy Matrix demonstration system was shipped on September 15, 2005.
The scale-power flywheel-based energy storage system, which was built under contract to the California Energy Commission, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the California ISO, is designed to demonstrate the feasibility of providing highly responsive and cost-effective frequency regulation services for the electricity grid.
The demonstration system has a capability of approximately ten percent of the planned commercial version of the Smart Energy Matrix. The system will be installed in San Ramon, California at PG&E’s Distributed Utility Integration Test (DUIT) site, where the country’s first integration testing of commercial-grade, utility grid-interactive distributed energy resources is being conducted, including Beacon’s system.
Beacon Power also announced that there will be a live demonstration of this Smart Energy Matrix system during a private tour of the San Ramon DUIT facility on October 19, 2005. More detailed information can be found at www.sandia.gov/eesat/.
About Frequency Regulation
One of the most challenging aspects of today’s electricity grid is that the amount of power generated and the amount consumed must be in exact balance at all times. When imbalances occur, the frequency of electricity (60 hertz in the U.S.) that end users require will not be maintained, which adversely affects grid stability. The constant balancing of power demand and production to maintain a stable frequency is called frequency regulation.
Beacon’s Smart Energy Matrix is a flywheel-based energy storage system that is intended to be a long-life, environmentally friendly solution for frequency regulation, with no fuel consumed and no emissions generated.
About Beacon Power
Beacon Power Corporation designs sustainable energy storage and power conversion solutions that would provide reliable electric power for the utility, renewable energy, and distributed generation markets.
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