TVA will install a 40-MWh lithium-ion energy storage system

The Tennessee Valley Authority will be installing its first owned and operated energy storage system near an industrial complex in Vonore, Tennessee, about 35 miles southwest of Knoxville.

“TVA is building the energy grid of the future,” said Senior Manager Dale Harris, who leads research and development for TVA. “This pilot project will help us to innovate and adopt new technologies that will provide businesses clean, low-cost, reliable electricity while helping them meet their sustainability goals.”

Known as the Vonore Battery Energy Storage System, the project will use 40 MWh of lithium-ion batteries. When the facility is operational in 2022, the batteries will provide high-quality power to local industrial customers served by Loudoun Utilities Board. The Vonore BESS will improve the quality of electrical service provided to local manufacturing facilities without building additional transmission lines.

The Vonore BESS will also serve as a test bed as TVA prepares to meet future energy needs. The Vonore BESS will be TVA’s first battery to go online, but not the only grid-scale storage system that TVA will use. In February, TVA announced a solar project in Lowndes County, Mississippi, for its Green Invest programs that will include 200 MWh of battery energy storage.

Both battery storage projects are part of the 2019 TVA Integrated Resource Plan, a comprehensive study that shapes how TVA will provide low-cost, reliable and clean energy for the next 20 years. The IRP calls for adding up to 5 GW of energy storage capacity through 2038.

“TVA engineers, scientists and technicians are continually working with our industry partners to shape the future of the energy marketplace and power the long-term economic health of our seven-state region,” said Dr. Joe Hoagland, vice president, TVA Innovation and Research. “We are developing and investing in the latest and best technologies to ensure the steady flow of reliable and clean energy as we build out the nation’s premier energy system.”

News item from TVA

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Original Source: https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2020/09/tva-will-install-a-40-mwh-lithium-ion-energy-storage-system/