March 30, 2023
Duke Energy is increasing its battery storage capabilities in North Carolina and has begun industrial operation of the state’s largest battery system, an 11 MW undertaking in Onslow County.
The battery system will incessantly be operated along side an adjoining 13 MW solar facility situated on a leased web site inside U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, which has been producing carbon-free energy since 2015. The two websites may also be operated independently.
“Battery storage is an important resource for our transition to cleaner energy,” mentioned Kendal Bowman, Duke Energy’s North Carolina state president. “Pairing the energy storage system with our existing solar facility at Camp Lejeune helps strengthen the reliability of our energy grid and makes better use of our existing solar generation.”
Together, the tasks allow essentially the most environment friendly and dependable use of renewable sources. Both tasks are related to a Duke Energy substation and shall be used to serve all Duke Energy Progress clients. Future work might allow the solar and battery programs to enhance the resiliency of Camp Lejeune in opposition to outages.
“Through an enhanced use lease (EUL) and strategic partnership with Duke Energy Progress, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune has been able to make an important investment in the pursuit of energy security inside the fence-line,” mentioned U.S. Navy Cmdr. Ross Campbell, director of public works at Camp Lejeune. “Integration of the solar plant with a battery energy storage system, unthinkable a decade ago, presents the installation with a number of opportunities to achieve energy resilience objectives. These systems are part of the ongoing collaboration with the Department of Defense and its utility providers to ensure energy security at federal facilities.”
The battery’s chemistry is lithium iron phosphate with the system rated at 11 MW/11 MWh, and its bodily footprint is about 1 acre. Duke Energy partnered with Black & Veatch building entity OCI, which acted because the prime contractor for engineering, procurement and building.
In current years, Duke Energy has been increasing battery storage in North Carolina. In the town of Asheville, a 9 MW lithium-ion battery system is working subsequent to a Duke Energy substation within the Shiloh neighborhood. In Madison County, within the city of Hot Springs, the corporate has a 4 MW lithium-ion battery system that’s a part of a microgrid within the city.
Battery storage is important to hurry the clear energy transition within the United States. It helps maximize the optimistic impression intermittent era sources like wind and solar have on the energy grid.
The firm plans to proceed investing in battery know-how over the subsequent few years. Duke Energy expects to have greater than 1,600 MW of battery storage in service by 2029. Currently, the corporate’s regulated utilities have about 90 MW of battery energy storage tasks in operation in three states.
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Tags: BESS, Duke Energy, energy storage
