BC Hydro and S&C Electric Company partner on sodium-sulfur battery energy storage project
25 June 2011
BC Hydro has selected S&C Electric Company, a renewable energy integration company, for a sodium-sulfur (NaS) battery energy storage project intended to improve service reliability for a remote mountain community in British Columbia. The energy storage system, which is funded, in part, by Natural Resources Canada’s Clean Energy Fund, will also reduce peak load demand for a second community, limiting carbon emissions and enabling deferral of capital expenditures.
The energy storage solution utilizes two battery systems, one installed in the community of Field and a second in Golden, BC, to provide back-up power for Field and to shave peak loads. The peak shaving application—which uses a novel approach where load is directly monitored and stored energy injected as needed—will allow BC Hydro to save on investments in transmission system capacity that would otherwise be required to meet peak demand.
For this project, S&C will engineer and install a complete energy storage solution featuring S&C’s Smart Grid SMS Storage Management System and IntelliTEAM SG Automatic Restoration System. This turnkey system will integrate the sodium-sulfur batteries on to the grid seamlessly, allowing the batteries to support a portion of the peak load depending on demand. This integrated solution optimizes total system efficiency and reliability for the community.
A smart way to meet peak demands and increase reliability for isolated towns without having to re-design the power distribution network.
Posted by: HarveyD | 25 June 2011 at 10:20 AM
This may help smooth transient loads and stabilize the grid frequency, it is really not peak shaving. They can not provide what a peak plant does for hours and should not even try.
Posted by: SJC | 25 June 2011 at 02:08 PM
"BC Hydro to save on investments in transmission system capacity that would otherwise be required to meet peak demand."
These remote areas near tourist destinations are better suited for comprehensive distributed energy systems. While this battery may be a temporary solution - remote areas need to be off-grid and generate their own power. This can be done via small micro turbines combined with PV/wind or possibly geo-thermal.
Defacing natural habitat like Banf and Glacier National Parks with giant high voltage transmission towers is little different than putting up oil derricks. Golden and Field are communities far better served by distributed energy operating off of a small group of local methane wells. Eliminating big-utility transmission equipment cost and losses and environmental destruction.
Posted by: Reel$$ | 26 June 2011 at 06:33 PM
Local production is OK but it is extremely difficult to match local demand and production of a 24/7 basis unless you have enough e-storage to meet peak demands and absorb over production due to very low demand periods.
We enjoy abundant very low price (we could run a BEV on less than $0.50/day) clean centralized hydro e-power with extremely high availability. Of course, there will always be a few people to claim that fishes are disturbed by dams and birds by transmission lines etc. The same people are against wind turbines, solar cells, nuclear, NG power plants, coal power plants etc but want cheap power delivered to their place 100% of the time?.
Posted by: HarveyD | 27 June 2011 at 08:27 AM
Hmmm... No Harvey you have it wrong. Transmitting electricity via miles of wires and towers, transformers, breakers, load levelers etc. is ancient technology. AND it damages the environment. Of course dams ruin habitat for wildlife - how could they not??
No, people who oppose centralized power are strong supporters of alternative technologies provided it serves local markets. Transmitting desert solar across North America to the North East would be idiotic. Cutting great swaths of trees and fields to install giant high voltage towers is outdated.
We ARE moving toward the new, local, distributed energy model and one day we will be able to return magnificent rivers to their natural, wild condition - after the dams and levees and man made intrusions have been dismantled.
Posted by: Reel$$ | 28 June 2011 at 02:04 PM