Wärtsilä is to supply its energy storage technology for two major projects in southern Texas, USA. The interconnected stand-alone systems will have a combined rated capacity of 200 MW. Wärtsilä has also signed ten-year guaranteed asset performance agreements for the installations. The order was placed by Able Grid Energy Solutions, a utility-scale energy storage project development arm of MAP RE/ES, one of North America’s leading investors in modern energy projects.
The Madero and Ignacio energy storage plants will deliver grid support to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the body responsible for managing the electric supply to more than 25 million customers. Wärtsilä will supply its next-generation GridSolv Quantum energy storage solution. The two systems will also feature Wärtsilä’s GEMS smart energy management platform to monitor and control the flow of energy, enabling these projects to provide grid support for critical periods during extreme weather or grid instability conditions, such as those that Texas has recently experienced.
“The Madero and Ignacio projects will participate in the existing ERCOT wholesale electricity market, delivering key ancillary services required for grid stability, including frequency regulation. Years of development … now allow us to deploy market-driven solutions that will improve electricity grid reliability and performance while enabling further decarbonisation of electricity markets,” commented Aaron Zubaty, CEO of MAP RE/ES.
The projects’ ten-year Wärtsilä Guaranteed asset performance agreements are intended to enable flexibility in system maintenance and operation in order to maximise revenue in the ERCOT market. The agreements include maintenance services, an availability guarantee, and a flexible capacity guarantee based on usage. The systems are expected to become fully operational in January 2022.
Image: 200 MW of energy storage systems to enable continued growth of wind and solar in the ERCOT market by providing balancing and grid quality services © Wärtsilä Corporation
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