Wartsila's energy storage systems to provide grid support in Texas

With the objective to enable grid support during extreme weather conditions, Wartsila Energy has announced to provide its advanced energy storage systems for two major projects in southern Texas, with a combined rated capacity of 200 MW. 

Wartsila will supply and maintain the two major interconnected, standalone, energy storage systems for Texas grid services. The order was placed by Able Grid Energy Solutions, Inc., a utility-scale energy storage project development arm of MAP RE/ES, one of North America’s leading investors in modern energy projects. The order was booked by Wärtsilä in February 2021.

“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," said Aaron Zubaty, CEO of MAP RE/ES.

The Madero and Ignacio energy storage plants are expected to improve electricity grid reliability and deliver valuable grid support to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the body responsible for managing the electric supply to more than 25 million customers.

Wartsila has stated that it will supply its next-generation, fully integrated GridSolv Quantum energy storage solution for the projects. The energy storage 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.

“Energy storage is rapidly becoming a key asset for the global energy markets and Wärtsilä has a leading position in this field," said Risto Paldanius, Vice President, Americas, Wärtsilä Energy. "In the planning of these installations, we were able to provide solid expertise based on our depth of experience in energy storage, and this added considerable value to our energy optimization capabilities."

Wartsila has signed a 10-year guaranteed asset performance agreement for the installations which includes maintenance services, availability guarantee, and a flexible capacity guarantee based on usage. These agreements will enable flexibility in system maintenance and operations with the view to maximize revenues in the ERCOT market. 

The energy storage systems are expected to become fully operational starting January 2022.

- By Shraddha Kakade
  Asst. Editor, Emerging Technology News.