Flywheel Prototype to Be Demonstrated for Frequency Regulation/Grid Stability

Flywheel Prototype to Be Demonstrated for Frequency Regulation/Grid Stability

May 05 - Power Engineering

Power stored by flywheels, long a mainstay for uninterruptible power systems (UPS), has never been used for grid applications. That could change, according to California Energy Commissioner Art Rosenfeld, who says that when proven viable, flywheel technology could offer California's independent system operator (ISO) an alternative to keeping power plants on spinning reserve in order to balance the grid.

Rosenfeld, presiding member of the California Energy Commission's Research, Development and Demonstration Committee, expressed his optimism for the technology's ability to provide an alternative to conventional grid support in conjunction with the announcement of a contract with Beacon Power Corp. to demonstrate an advanced flywheel- based solution for frequency regulation and grid stability.

Beacon's Smart Energy Matrix is a design concept for a megawatt scale utility grade flywheel-based energy storage solution that would provide sustainable frequency regulation and grid stability, and support the demand for reliable distributed electric power. Illustration courtesy of Beacon Power.

One of the most challenging aspects of today's electricity grid is that the amount of power generated and the amount consumed must be in exact balance at all times. When imbalances occur, the frequency of electricity (60 hertz in the United States) required by end users is not maintained, adversely affecting grid stability. This constant balancing of power demand and production to maintain frequency is called frequency regulation.

Grid operators, such as the California ISO, purchase frequency regulation services every day that are equivalent to 1 percent to 2 percent of the amount of energy used daily. In 2003, the value of regulation services purchased by four U.S. regional grid operators in open power markets exceeded $400 million. The Beacon Smart Energy Matrix is being specifically designed to address this sizeable and growing market with better performance and greater cost effectiveness than existing methods.

Under the contract, Beacon Power will develop and install a system to demonstrate the potential benefits of using flywheel energy storage to provide grid frequency regulation, a service required by all grid operators. A successful frequency regulation demonstration with the California ISO will also demonstrate the system's technical and market feasibility in a large, important, growing market - grid stabilization. The contract calls for the system to be delivered and installed during the first half of 2005. Flywheel technology has the potential to provide a rapid injection of energy for several minutes to help keep the grid stable when there is a contingency, according to California ISO Interim Chief Operations Officer Jim Derniers. "For example," he says, "some kind of problem that causes a big power plant to drop off line. By helping out with this demonstration project, the ISO is fostering technology that shows real promise to improve the control and reliability of the grid."

The demonstration will be a one-tenth power prototype of Beacon's planned megawatt sized system known as the Smart Energy Matrix. It is designed to provide grid frequency regulation at a site in San Ramon, Calif. The demonstration will integrate Beacon flywheels and associated nower electronics into the local distribution grid. The project will also focus on communication with and control of the demonstration-scale system by the California ISO. Beacon Power is teaming with Connected Energy Corp. of Rochester, N.Y., to develop the intelligent monitoring and control systems that will be used in this California project, as well as two previously announced in New York State.

"We are already working under contract to NYSERDA in New York to deliver a similar demonstration system," says Bill Capp, president and CEO of Beacon Power. "Through these demonstrations, we'll be able to show how advanced energy storage solutions like ours can help operators manage a smarter, more resilient electricity grid. We believe that our technology will be more responsive, more sustainable and ultimately more cost-effective than methods currently being employed by grid operators, and we look forward to a successful demonstration in California and New York in the coming months."

STEVE BLANKINSHIP, ASSOCIATE EDITOR