French battery company Saft will supply an energy storage system (ESS) to facilitate backup power in Bermuda, the company reported.
The deal calls for Saft to deliver a turnkey order for up to 10 MW capacity for spinning reserves and frequency response to maintain grid stability. Like many islands, Bermuda relies on imported fuel for much of its power generation, so spinning reserves are essential for quickly responding to provide backup power in case of an outage.
The government of Bermuda passed its Electricity Act in 2016 to modernize the approach to generation, distribution and sales. The new regulation has prompted the Bermuda Electric Light Co.(BELCO) to develop a long-term plan that would incorporate energy storage, efficiency and renewable resources.
“We selected Saft because of its long track record of creating energy storage systems for remote and island communities,” said Stephanie Simons, mechanical engineer at BELCO Power Generation. “The ESS for BELCO will integrate energy-efficient power conversion equipment as a package with a 20-year asset life.”
Saft is handling design, delivery and installation of the energy storage system and will also connect it to the island grid. The ESS will provide spinning reserves—always ready for near-instantaneous deployment—which will allow the operator to switch off generators and save fuel.
The battery system also will provide frequency response services, injecting or absorbing energy within the grid within seconds to maintain grid stability.
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Energy storage is one of the content tracks being presented at the POWERGEN INTERNATIONAL conference and exhibition happening Nov. 19-21 in New Orleans. POWERGEN University on Monday, November 18 will feature longer workshops on some of the same topics. Anyone with a project or case study they’d like to submit can find the PGU and POWERGEN call for abstracts here. Deadline for entry is now Feb. 26.
