can battery storage and solar work together? arizona's largest utility to find out - battery energy storage system

Phoenix last week-
APS, Arizona's largest utility, began testing a 1. 5-megawatt-
Hourly energy storage system.
Container-
Size units developed by lithium
Electrovaya Inc. , manufacturer of ion batteries.
, Can dispatch electricity equivalent to 1,200 hybrid Prius sedan or 300,000 cell phone battery.
Here's a video of how this unit works.
The energy storage system located in Flagstaff will perform dual tasks in two missionsyear pilot.
At the first stop of the power distribution substation, when demand and price are low, the unit will store electricity and, when demand surge, during peak hours, usually later in the afternoon and earlier in the evening,
About a year later, the unit will be transported by truck to a neighboring solar area a few miles away, with a 500-
Kilowatt photovoltaic (PV)
Farms and clusters of rooftop solar panels (
More information about this below).
Battery storage and solar energy, 500-once installed on the Doney Park renewable energy site-
Kw pv farm, APS will use the energy storage system to power when the solar output drops, just like when the cloud goes through the top, and help meet the higher demand at the peak after dark.
"One of the busiest times in our system is 5 to 9. m.
Turn on the lights, TV and air conditioning when many customers come home from work.
By then, however, the solar system has basically stopped production for a day, "Joe Wilhelm, APS Energy Storage Project manager, said in a statement.
"With storage, we can collect solar energy during the day and schedule it at night.
APS spokesman Dan Wool wrote in an email: "connecting an energy storage system to a small solar plant like Donnie Park is definitely attractivemail.
"But overall, Flagstaff provides a very stable system environment for testing technologies such as energy storage.
Flagstaff is not affected by the extreme desert temperatures and high customer needs we see in Phoenix.
"Flagpole: the clean energy incubatorThe energy storage pilot has refreshed the reputation of flagpole as an emerging clean energy incubator.
Southwest wind power is one of the major manufacturers of small wind turbines.
My alma mater, University of Northern Arizonago Lumberjacks! )
, Built some of the most impressive green buildings anywhere, including the LEED Platinum application R & D building.
Flagstaff is also home to the early APS Solar project, which complements the new energy storage pilot project.
In April 2010, utilities launched a community power project near Doni Park in Flagstaff, a future destination for the Electrovaya unit. Funded by a $3.
3 million grant from the United StatesS.
Department of Energy, 45-
This month's study is analyzing the impact of adding high concentrations of solar energy to the grid in one block.
APS owns, maintains and receives electricity generated by 125 PV systems installed in homes and primary schools in the region.
Customers who agree to host photovoltaic arrays are charged a fixed rate (PDF)
For electricity generated by the system over 20 years.
APS is also deploying smart grid technology to help boost 500-
And solar panels on the roof.
The energy storage pilot project is funded by APS.
Dan Wool of Aps told me that he could not provide the cost of the project because there was no
Disclosure Agreement with Electrovaya.