Consumers Energy presents new battery storage technology at Western Michigan University

Consumers Energy – Michigan’s largest energy provider – is officially in the battery technology race, after unveiling a new, large-scale battery at Western Michigan University that could store enough energy to power 1,000 homes.

Tim Sparks, Consumers Energy’s vice president of electric grid integration, said it’s all part of the company’s Clean Energy Plan. Other parts of that plan call for additional solar and wind electric generation facilities in-state, but battery storage would be utilized as a dependable source of energy to address those times when neither sun or wind cooperate.

“Advances in battery storage technology have now reached the scale that they power entire communities on demand,” Sparks said. “The Parkview Battery Project begins the next groundbreaking chapter in the story about how clean and reliable energy reaches Consumers Energy customers.”

The site for the project came from a cooperative effort between Consumers Energy and Michigan State University consultants. That partnership will continue over the next year, as both study the data generated by the new battery facility to better the potential for battery usage throughout the rest of the state.

Western Michigan University engineering students will also benefit. They will have the opportunity to work with Consumers Energy on electric battery research and operations going forward.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, about 867 megawatts of utility-scale battery capacity exists in the United States based on technology similar to the Parkview battery.