Kentucky generating station to be used as battery technology test site
Louisville Gas and Electric Company (LG&E), Kentucky Utilities (KU) Company and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) recently launched a new Energy Storage Research and Demonstration Site at its E.W. Brown Generating Station near Harrodsburg, Kentucky.
Through the project, which began in January, the utilities will develop, test and evaluate utility-scale battery technologies to determine potential benefits, costs and operating requirements. Researchers will also use the site to improve control technologies, increase value gained from storage and develop solution to integration challenges.
“The Energy Storage Research and Demonstration Site is unique among other sites in the utility industry because it provides us a testbed for evaluating multiple utility-scale energy storage technologies at the same time,” David Link, manager of Research and Development for LG&E and KU, said.
The site will include three testing bays, each of which will include up to one megawatt of storage. The first energy system installed at the site is a one-megawatt lithium-ion battery system, a one-megawatt smart power inverter and an advanced control system.
“Energy storage is a viable way for grid operators to enhance resiliency, manage costs, and optimally incorporate distributed energy resources on an integrated grid,” Mark McGranaghan, vice president of Distribution and Energy Utilization at EPRI, said. “The LG&E and KU testbed will provide valuable data on the performance of energy storage that will help utilities across the country make better decisions about their own systems as well as provide information to other stakeholders.”
