Partnership yields military energy storage system

AECOM and Lockheed Martin have joined forces to build a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) at Fort Carson, Colorado, using Lockheed Martin’s GridStar Lithium energy storage process.

AECOM officials representing the fully integrated global infrastructure firm said the Fort Carson, Colorado, site would be the largest stand-alone, commercially contracted battery at an army base. The 4.25 MW/8.5 MWh BESS is part of an energy savings performance contract (ESPC) project to reduce Fort Carson’s energy costs and increase its energy resilience.

“During project development, our team surveyed the energy storage industry for the optimum solution for Fort Carson,” Annika Moman, senior vice president of AECOM Power and Energy Services Lead, said. “We decided on Lockheed Martin’s GridStar units due to their unique modular architecture allowing for a flexible design and a reduction in operational risk. Our working partnership with Lockheed was vital to our team and Fort Carson in making this ground-breaking project happen.”

While officials acknowledged the current best primary use-case for the BESS is for demand charge reduction, the system may assume additional missions, such as renewables optimization, frequency and voltage support for Fort Carson’s distribution grid and, potentially, microgrid support.

“Lockheed Martin is pleased to collaborate with AECOM to develop and implement the new military infrastructure that will help Fort Carson increase its resiliency and reduce their electricity costs,” John Battaglini, director with Lockheed Martin Energy, said. “The versatility of energy storage is a key enabler for the military’s aggressive goals of achieving energy resiliency.”