Battery manufacturer Saft has delivered its Intensium Max+ 20M containerised battery energy storage system (BESS) with innovative 'Cold Temperature Package' to Kotzebue Electric Association Inc. an electric cooperative based in Kotzebue, Alaska.
The system will allow the existing hybrid wind-diesel power system to achieve its full potential, providing more reliable and less expensive power to Kotzebue, located above the Arctic Circle in Alaska's Northwest Arctic Borough. Kotzebue is not connected to an electrical transmission grid or to any road system, and has historically been dependent on diesel powered generators for electricity. The annual average temperature is 22°F (-5.5°C) and area residents face some of the highest costs for energy anywhere in the USA. Incorporating the Saft Intensium® Max+ 20M battery should allow better utilisation of the wind system, and reduce the Borough's diesel dependence.
The Saft BESS provides battery storage technology designed for extreme cold environments. It is the first container system of its kind in North America to utilise the Intensium Max+ 20M product platform. In addition to the battery, which provides 950kWh and has the ability to operate in environments reaching ambient temperatures of -58°F, the delivered BESS also includes a 1.2 MW EssPro™ Power Conversion System and grid connect transformer, supplied by ABB. The key benefits to the KEA microgrid will be the ability to ride through fluctuations in wind output and to time-shift excess wind energy, providing significant reductions in diesel consumption.
Several other villages in the region are being evaluated for Saft BESS installations similar to the one at Kotzebue.
Linkedin
