American solar and energy storage developer Origis Energy has contracted Mitsubishi Power to deliver three utility-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) projects totaling 150 MW / 600 MWh. The latter's 'Emerald' storage solution will be used for the three projects, successively coming online over the next two years, according to the partners.
The projects will be co-located with three Origis Energy photovoltaic solar facilities in the Southeast United States to reduce curtailment of excess solar generation which will enable greater efficiency and higher capacity of the sites.
Origis has pioneered large-scale solar in the Southeast, working with leading utilities, municipalities and electric cooperatives to deploy over 1.5 gigawatts of operational and contracted projects in the region. The company's U.S. total for operational and contracted solar and BESS projects is over 4 GW.
The company claims that energy storage enables it to add grid services to renewable energy generation. Consequently, Origis has 2.3 GWh of BESS projects contracted or in negotiation, with 13.7 GWh currently being developed.
"Storage of renewably generated power is an increasingly important grid asset," said Kenneth Kim, Vice President, Engineering & Strategy Planning, Origis Energy. "By adding the BESS solution to these facilities, we increase the value of the asset, adding enhanced grid solutions to clean, cost-effective solar power. We thank Mitsubishi Power for their collaboration on these projects, creating long term benefits for our customers."
The BESS projects will employ Mitsubishi Power's Emerald Integrated Plant Controller - an Energy Management System (EMS) and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system – that instructs the BESS when to charge and deploy, monitors status, sends alarms and alerts, and enables long-term data storage.
"The Emerald storage solution technology we're delivering for Origis follows rigorous NERC CIP and IEC 62443 Security Development Lifecycle Process policy and processes aligned to industry best practices," said Alejandro Schnakofsky, Vice President of Global Strategy, Energy Storage Solutions, Mitsubishi Power Americas. "It is imperative in everything we do to protect energy systems and operators with the strongest level of cybersecurity possible."
Mitsubishi Power has more than 2.5 GWh of utility-scale BESS projects in various stages of deployment globally that increase renewable efficiency, capacity, and flexibility.
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