Wärtsilä Energy, a global energy storage and management company, has installed 72 GW of power plant capacity in 180 countries around the world. Now it is bringing its know-how to Texas in order to stabilize the supply network of this state with two 100 MW battery storage systems with a total capacity of 214.5 MWh. The Madero and Ignacio projects will participate in the ERCOT wholesale electricity market and provide important ancillary services required for grid stability, including frequency regulation. They are expected to enter service in January 2022.
In a press release, Risto Paldanius, Vice President of Wärtsilä Energy Americas said: “Energy storage is fast becoming a major asset for global energy markets and Wärtsilä is a leader in this area. When planning these systems, we were able to provide in-depth specialist knowledge based on our many years of experience in energy storage, which significantly increased our possibilities for energy optimization. “
Wartsila energy storage. Photo credit: Wartsila
In an email, the company CleanTechnica announced that the main purpose of the two new systems is to help maintain a stabilized grid as more renewable energy from wind and solar systems is added to the utility grid. They will also be a source of emergency power in a crisis situation like the one that happened when Texas experienced unexpectedly low temperatures in February.
A certain amount of energy is required to keep the grid running. In February there were times when the grid failed because there was not enough electricity even for this basic function. The 200 MW storage system could have closed this smaller operational gap and provided the state with electricity during the crisis. The system will provide urgently needed energy storage to cope with such emergencies in the future.
Grid-scale storage is about more than just batteries. Sophisticated digital control mechanisms are required to react to changes in frequency or demand within milliseconds. Madero and Ignacio's installations are based on Wärtsilä's GridSolv Quantum – a fully integrated modular and compact energy storage system that is designed for easy provision and sustainable energy optimization across project locations and market applications. It has been optimized for flexibility and functionality with multiple subsystems and meets all North American and international standards.
Both systems will also use Wärtsilä's sophisticated GEMS energy management system. It monitors, controls and optimizes energy systems at both site and portfolio level in order to achieve optimal system performance. With the help of machine learning as well as historical and real-time data analysis, the asset mix is optimized so that customers can remotely monitor, operate, identify and diagnose devices with unmatched security, reliability and flexibility. It is also one of the top rated cybersecurity systems and provides a barrier to malicious digital attacks on the utility grid.
These types of systems are exactly what ERCOT needs to address the weakness of its system exposed by recent winter weather. Two 100 MW storage systems don't do their job alone, but they provide grid managers and utilities with hands-on experience to convince them to add more storage to the grid if it is further developed for reliable use in the future.
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