Alabama Power is to develop the state’s first utility-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) on the former Plant Gorgas site, a retired bituminous coal firing power station that operated from 1917 and had a capacity of 11.7 GW at its peak in the 1970s. The new facility will have a grid resource capacity of up to 150 MW for a duration of two hours, from a storage capacity of 300 MWh. Stored energy will be generated by ‘other Alabama Power resources’.
“This facility will help Alabama Power understand how we can best use battery systems on our electric grid so that customers have power when they need it,” commented Jeff Peoples, the chairman, president and CEO of Alabama Power.
The 7-acre facility will be designed as a standalone system that will connect to and charge directly from the state’s power grid. Construction will begin in 2025, with estimated completion by 2027. The lithium ion phosphate batteries that will make up the system will have a 2-hour duration under load, with the ability to recharge in a little over 2 hours.
The BESS is intended to charge during times of low energy cost and discharge when energy costs are higher, helping keep costs down; they can also supply balancing energy in response to changing conditions, and help integrate renewables sources into the state’s energy mix.
