The U.S. Department of Energy’s Long-Duration Energy Storage Demonstrations Program is propelling a new era of energy innovation, unveiling trailblazing projects from CO2-based storage in Wisconsin, second-life batteries in California, to iron-air batteries in Minnesota and Colorado. This initiative not only promises enhanced grid resilience but also underscores a nationwide push toward community-driven sustainable development. Dive into the core of these transformative energy solutions shaping a robust, responsible future.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations recently shared details about a selection of pioneering projects under its Long-Duration Energy Storage Demonstrations Program. This initiative spotlights efforts to build resilient and innovative energy storage systems across the country, each with a focus on community engagement and development.
In Wisconsin, the Columbia Energy Storage Project by Alliant Energy is preparing a unique CO2-based energy storage system to complement the grid. Renderings of Energy Domes for the project have highlighted an investment of up to $30.7 million in federal cost share. Moreover, California’s ambitious ReJoule firm plans to leverage second-life batteries to enhance energy resilience in diverse settings, ranging from housing complexes to a Red Lake Nation campus. Meanwhile, Xcel Energy in a joint venture with Form Energy, located in Minnesota and Colorado, has embarked on a project illustrating the potential of iron-air batteries for reliable renewable electricity storage.
Other innovative enterprises include the POLAR project in Alaska, which ventures into integrating wind development and thermal energy storage. The SMART project targets repurposing retired EV batteries across various American states, demonstrating a keen interest in sustainability and technological advancement. Each project carefully delineates community benefits, illustrating a commitment to positive local impact and workforce development.
The text reveals several other projects under negotiation that could significantly shape energy strategies and infrastructure. These range from a novel demonstration of fire-safe battery technology in New York to pioneering efforts to deploy durable batteries in the rural U.S., and from establishing a reliable energy backup for a children’s hospital in California to the development of aqueous zinc energy storage systems. Each project description furnishes a glimpse into the anticipated benefits such as grid stability, emission reductions, job creation, and community empowerment.
An overview of the projects:
- Columbia Energy Storage Project: Demonstrates a novel CO2-based long-duration energy storage system to dispatch 18 MW of power for over 10 hours at a retired Wisconsin coal power station.
- Communities Accessing Resilient Energy Storage (CARES): Builds modular energy storage systems from repurposed electric vehicle batteries, improving energy resilience across three U.S. locations.
- Multiday Iron air Demonstration (MIND): Deploying two iron-air long-duration energy storage systems capable of sustaining power for multiple days at retiring coal plants in Minnesota and Colorado.
- Pumped thermal energy storage in ALaska Railbelt (POLAR): Creates a Pumped Thermal Energy Storage system in Healy, Alaska to increase electricity reliability and support local wind power integration.
- Second Life Smart Systems (SMART): Implements repurposed lithium-ion EV battery energy storage systems for a variety of applications, including grid resilience and support for EV charging in multiple American states.
- Stored Rechargeable Energy Demonstration (STORED): Showcases zinc manganese dioxide batteries in New York, focusing on load management and power resilience with safer, more cost-effective storage solutions.
- Rural Energy Viability for Integrated Vital Energy (REVIVE): Introduces vanadium redox flow batteries for long-duration storage across diverse rural American settings to enable participation in renewable energy programs.
- Children’s HospitAl Resilient Grid with Energy Storage (CHARGES): Installs a zinc bromide flow battery system for robust critical backup services at California’s Valley Children’s Hospital.
- Front-of-the-meter Utilization of Zinc bromide Energy Storage (FUZES): Develops long-duration battery energy storage projects utilizing aqueous zinc technology at renewable energy sites in Oregon and Wisconsin.
