EDF Renewable Energy (EDF RE) announced the commercial operation of McHenry Storage Project, EDF Group’s first battery storage project in North America. The energy storage system, located in McHenry County, Illinois, added 40MW of flexible capacity (20 MW nameplate) to the PJM Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) and will participate in both the regulation and capacity markets.
The success of the project was due to EDF Renewable Energy’s broad experience in renewables and the expertise of EDF Store and Forecast, who provided the command and control to optimize the triumvirate between cost, longevity and performance of the battery system. EDF Store and Forecast will continue to monitor the facility.
An EDF Company, recently spun out of EDF Research and Development, EDF Store and Forecast has developed control software that utilizes advanced forecasting tools to precisely predict solar and wind production either in concert or stand alone with energy storage. This technology allows rapid management of state of charge of the system to meet system critical applications for energy storage. EDF S&F adds value to this space and leverages over 800 MWh of batteries installed worldwide across a range of applications from long duration storage to frequency response. This combination of EDF companies brings the much needed strength and experience to the market as utilities are exploring the potential for energy storage.
“EDF Renewable Energy is pleased to have reached commercial operation of our first battery energy storage system in the US, building upon the EDF Group’s substantial experience with grid-connected batteries across multiple markets,” commented Ryan Pfaff, Executive Vice President of EDF Renewable Energy. “Through the provision of fast-response frequency regulation services, battery-based energy storage can facilitate the cost-effective integration of intermittent, renewable energy resources into the grid, and is therefore highly complementary to our core renewable generation business.”
The EDF RE currently has over 100 MW of storage projects under development across North America and intends to continue to leverage its experience to add value to this space.
EDF Renewable Energy acquired 100% interest in the project late in the first quarter of 2015 from Chicago-based GlidePath Power; construction commenced in June 2015. The system is interconnected at the distribution level into Commonwealth Edison Company (ComED). The battery and power electronics were supplied by BYD America, consisting of 11 containerized units totaling 20 MW (22MVA) and is performing at expectation.