Cooperative Living May 2020 - 21

CuttingEdge | Story by Paul Wesslund, Contributing Writer
Left, North Carolina Electric Co-ops own
a battery storage system in partnership
with South River Electric Membership Corp.
Below, a Hawaii co-op owns solar field and
a battery storage system. They allow the
co-op to store solar power during the day
and dispatch it when energy demand is high.
If a utility could buy electricity and
store it in a battery when the price is
lowest, then draw from the battery
when market prices are highest, it could
amount to cost savings that could be
passed on to the consumer.
HELPING RENEWABLE ENERGY
One factor preventing more use of
The Battery BOOM
A
Co-ops look at new methods to store power
surge in production of batteries
could streamline the electricity
service in your home.
No, it's not an increase in the
number of AAA batteries for your TV
remote control. Analysts predict
lithium-ion battery production will
soar by 800% between 2017 and 2022,
mostly to supply demand for the rapidly
expanding market for electric vehicles.
More production means improved
performance and lower prices, says Jan
Ahlen, the director of energy solutions
for the National Rural Electric
Cooperative Association.
" Batteries are becoming better, faster
and cheaper, " Ahlen says.
A better and cheaper battery can be
a huge new tool for a utility like your
electric cooperative. The batteries being
developed to make electric vehicles run
better are being connected to make
large utility-scale batteries.
co-opliving.com
MAKING WIND AND SOLAR
MORE USEFUL
The U.S. Department of Energy's
Energy Information Administration
reports that utility battery capacity
has quadrupled in the past five years.
During the next three years, the agency
predicts the battery capacity of utilities
will triple to the point where they
could supply enough electricity for
2.5 million homes.
Ahlen calls these batteries " the Swiss
army knife " of the utility industry
because they can be used for different
applications and different reasons.
Here are some of those uses:
TIMING FOR THE BEST PRICE
The cost of the electricity to a utility
can vary during the time of year and
even the time of day as demand for that
electricity changes depending on things
like heating or air conditioning use.
renewable energy is the lack of solar
power at night or wind energy in
calm weather. Batteries could change
that, storing electricity during peak
production, making renewable energy
more useful.
CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT
Batteries could defer the need to
upgrade or replace existing utility
infrastructure, such as substations,
allowing a utility to save money on
otherwise expensive infrastructure
upgrades.
Batteries are also being used as a part
of a new utility outage management
idea called microgrids. Microgrids
designate high-priority parts of the
larger electric grid to help a community
manage during a power outage.
For decades, one of the fundamental
truths of the electric power industry has
been that " electricity can't be stored. "
But a few strategically placed batteries
can change that longstanding structure.
Batteries, says Ahlen, " are opening
up many new opportunities for utilities
to help provide more affordable and
reliable power for their consumers. " ■
Paul Wesslund writes on consumer and
cooperative affairs for the National Rural
Electric Cooperative Association.
May 2020 | Cooperative Living | 19
PHOTO COURTESY OF NORTH CAROLINA'S ELECTRIC COOPERATIVES
PHOTO BY NRECA
http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living May 2020

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