Thursday, April 12, 2012

Alaska’s 1st Utility-Scale Wind Farm Gets Energy Storage Boost from Xtreme Power

Xtreme Power, a power management and energy storage company, has been selected to supply Alaska’s first utility-scale wind farm with a significant energy storage boost, or backup.

Xtreme Power will supply a 3-MW Dynamic Power Resource (DPR) power management and energy storage system to Kodiak Electric Association (KEA) for its 9-MW Pillar Mountain Wind Project.

The Pillar Mountain Wind Project was originally 4.5 MW in size, and has been supplying KEA with nearly 10% of its electricity generation, but KEA’s satisfaction with it, combined with wind power’s cost compared to other alternatives, has triggered the company to boost the capacity to 9 MW. At 9 MW, though, KEA feels that an energy storage and power management boost would be helpful in maintaining or improving grid stability.

“We were drawn to Xtreme Power for its proven performance in renewable rich grid environments and sought to bring this same stability assurance to our Pillar Mountain Wind Project,” said Darron Scott, President and CEO of the Kodiak Electric Association. “The XP team assessed Pillar Mountain’s energy storage needs to develop a Dynamic Power Resource system that enhances grid operations while adhering to KEA’s financial targets. Together, we are furthering KEA’s goal of reaching 95 percent renewable power generation by 2020.” More

Source: Clean Technica (http://s.tt/19drh)