American Electric Power to Install Six MW of NAS® Battery Storage

Installations will boost reliability, integrate wind generation, prepare for future; new batteries a step toward AEP’s goal of 1,000 megawatts of advanced storage

American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) annouced that it is expanding its use of large-scale battery technology on its electricity grid by installing six megawatts of sodium sulfur (NAS®) batteries for storage of electricity to enhance reliability, allow for continued load growth, provide support for weak sub-transmission systems, avoid equipment overload and to offset intermittent wind power.

AEP will be adding stationary sodium sulfur (NAS®) battery technology in its West Virginia and Ohio service territories next year. The company will also work with wind developers to identify a third location for NAS battery deployment next year, using the storage capability to help offset the intermittent nature of wind generation.

AEP has placed an order for the three new NAS batteries with NGK Insulators Ltd. of Japan, the manufacturer and co-developer, along with the Tokyo Electric Power Co., of the technology. AEP anticipates delivery in spring 2008.

According to the New York Times:

The cost is very high, $27 million for six megawatts of capacity, or about $4,500 a kilowatt, including the price of substation improvements. Building a gas turbine of that size to meet peak needs would cost substantially less. But the battery system would be able to store power made from wind, a form of generation that does not produce any carbon dioxide. . . .

The batteries can each deliver one megawatt of power — enough to run a medium-size shopping center — for a little more than seven hours. Replenished nightly, they give back about 80 percent of the electricity put into them. Each is the size of a double-decker bus, and installation is not permanent; they can be moved to another site as the need arises.

AEP plans to add two megawatts of NAS battery capacity near Milton, W.Va., to enhance reliability and allow for continued load growth in that area. AEP will also add two megawatts of NAS battery capacity near Findlay, Ohio, to enhance reliability, provide support for weak sub-transmission systems and avoid equipment overload.

“We’re first movers on advanced storage among U.S. utilities, a position we’ve held on a wide number of technologies in our century of existence,” said Michael G. Morris, AEP´s chairman, president and chief executive officer. “Our near-term goal is to have at least 25 megawatts of NAS battery capacity in place by the end of this decade. But this is just a start. Our longer-term goal is to add another 1,000 megawatts of advanced storage technology to our system in the next decade. We will look at the full spectrum of technologies – flow batteries, pumped hydro, plug-in hybrid vehicles and various other technologies in early stages of development today – to determine their feasibility and potential for commercial application.”

"In our view, advanced storage technologies, like NAS batteries, and other emerging technologies to increase customers´ ability to benefit from energy efficiency will play equally important roles in delaying or avoiding costly future investments in new energy delivery or generation infrastructure," Morris said. “I believe other companies will begin deploying storage technologies in the coming years.”

In 2006, AEP installed the first megawatt-class NAS battery system to be used on a U.S. distribution system. That installation, on a substation near Charleston, W.Va., operated by AEP utility unit Appalachian Power, delayed the need for upgrades to the substation. A similar, but much smaller, NAS-based system installed in 2002 at an AEP office park in Gahanna, Ohio, was the first U.S. demonstration of the NAS technology.

Comments

[Will]

VRB systems have a Vanadium Redox large-scale battery which they estimate costs $170 per kWh. This is a very different figure to the $4,500 per kWh quoted for this technology. Can anyone explain why this company went for a system which is far more expensive than its competitors, or else what is not appearing from these figues?
Thanks.

[Paul Dietz]

The VRB cost undoubtedly is the marginal cost of adding storage capacity (basically, tanks and solutions) and does not include power-related cost (the stack that charges/discharges the system, and associated power electronics).

[Carl Hage]

Arhhg! It's almost impossible to get decent estimates for costs. For energy storage or intermittent power, the units need to be Wh/day not peak W.

How many MWh is in this system? 4.5 hours?
That makes it $1000/kWh not $4500, and the value is in the Wh, not W, as building an inefficient peaking gas turbine doesn't include fuel costs. I calculate the price needs to come down to around $350/kWh to pay for a $.12/kWh peak cost difference.

In a 2001 presentation I found for NAS, they hope to bring costs down $1100->$630->$250->$140/kWh with mass production.

From May 2006, the NY Bus System is installing a 1MW x 7hr system
for $3.8M ($543/kWh).

This 2005 study has a table with costs/efficiency for various technologies. Flywheels seem like among the lowest cost, but I haven't heard much on this lately. The ZBB flow batteries are quoted at $400/kWh, pumped hydro at $1-2,000/kW (not kWh), compressed air at $350-$450/kW.

Hydrogen/Fuel-Cell is the worst cost-- $4-6000/Kw, and only 30-40% efficient.

I couldn't find a cost for VRB, but I seem to remember systems installed at $1000/kWh-- still high, but they can be worth it to avoid building
an extra transmission line.

[bigTom]

If I may be presumptuous, I will assume that they are buying a small amount of capacity from promising technologies, as part of a technology developement program. They said they wanted 1 GW of capacity, 6MW is only a small chunk of that, just the sort of scale I would expect for a technology development project.

technofossil has some important points. Too many journalists seem to have a problem distinguishing between units of power, and of energy. Energy is the time integral of power.

Now I can imagine there would be different market needs for say high-power low time sustainablity (perhaps for allowing reaction time for grid stability issues), versus smoothing out production and consumption time disparities -which presumably requires systems that deliver rated power for several hours. I would expect the later systems to cost a lot more per watt, but less per KWhr. Also how quickly the system can respond to a change in demand might vary considerably across different storage technologies.

[Kit P]

Tom, I would guess that your assumptions are wrong. My electricity comes from AEP and it is 98.2 nuke and coal. I hope it stays that way too. AEP does not operate any nukes but owns 10% of one of the best operating nukes in the US. They also run a pumped hydroelectric near where I live.

The business focus of AEP appears to be producing cheap reliable electricity with coal but there is no place in the AEP service territory that has the pollution problems of California.

For the folks who like the idea of storing energy from renewable energy, this is still good news. If AEP is doing something it is likely because it makes good business sense. For location with good wind and solar resources, AEP may be demonstrating the economics of batteries even if the energy produced is from cheap coal.

[George]

Kit, there may be no place in the AEP service territory that has severe pollution problems, but the particulates from their stacks don't stay in the service territory. They wind up in my backyard, and I'm not crazy about breathing them. I'd prefer that AEP (and everyone else) replace the coal with something cleaner. Nukes would be fine with me but I'm not particular regarding the technology.

[Kit P]

George, you sound like one of those people who live in a dirty city and want to blame it on coal plants someplace else. Your local elected representative would much rather point the finger someplace else other than at your POV and the diesel delivery trucks and buses that service your cesspool.

In other words George, if you want clean air move out of the dirty city but please show me the data that supports your conclusion that coal plants hundreds of miles away are the source of your pour air quality.

I certainly agree that nukes should be built particularity in areas that would require more railroads. It would appear that AEP plants to continue make electricity with coal and build transmission lines so George can have lots of electricity.

[Eutopia]

1) George, what geographical area are you referring to, may I ask?
2) Kit P: I realize that George said 'particulate' but I remind you that CO2 from those coal plants does affect people everywhere. Or do you disagree? By the by, Kit P. what area do you call home?

[CoasttoCoast]

For the one asking for the MWh,

the article said that it supplied 1 MW, for about 7 hours.

Wouldn't that make it a 7MWh battery?

[Kit P]

No Eutopia, I do not think CO2 'affects' people everywhere speaking as an environmental engineer. I have read are some UN and National Science Academy reports on the topic of AGW. Both of theses sources indicate that the AGW is too small to measure.

ALARA (as low as reasonable achievable) is a principle of applying engineering or management solutions to reduce the impacts of making electricity. I was very anti-coal thirty years ago. I think the coal industry in the US has reduced the environmental impact significantly. I live in the eastern edge (downwind) of AEP service territory. Now if I could convince my neighbors to burn leaves when there is a temperature inversion.

[Glen]

Anyone know how NAS batteries are maintained at 300 degrees C?

[Payday Loan]

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[Payday Loan Advocate]

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[hybrid car owner]

If the fossil energy is running out, the people must begin thinking about alternative energy. This has started!
hopefully better for the earth.

[Phymah]

NaS is sealed in a box. a 350°C in the box is keep during they working. In my personal view, NaS is much easy to production during a flow-line. So the price will drop quick than VRB. And most important is China has start to produce them both VRB and NaS

[الفيسبوك]

good news thanks for updating us with this

[komal@EPC Edgware]

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[komal@air conditioning survey]

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[komal@air conditioning survey]

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[B2B Marketplace]

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[RMT]

RMT

[生薬]

生薬

[アバクロ]

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[Jonas]

AEP is providing electricity for US, and has the largest utilities, but now, how much power is left in AEP.. I'm afraid of our Mother's Nature..

[iPhone 4 ケース]

I certainly agree that nukes should be built particularity in areas that would require more railroads. It would appear that AEP plants to continue make electricity with coal and build transmission lines so George can have lots of electricity.

[iPhone 4 ケース]

good news thanks for updating us with this

[r4]

The business focus of AEP appears to be producing cheap reliable electricity with coal but there is no place in the AEP service territory that has the pollution problems of California.

[Led indbygningsspot]

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[マークバイマークジェイコブス]

It would appear that AEP plants to continue make electricity with coal and build transmission lines so George can have lots of electricity

[モンクレール]

West Virginia and Ohio service territories next year. The company will also work with wind developers to identify a third location for NAS battery deployment next year, using the storage capability to help offset the intermittent nature of wind generation.

[アバクロ]

d Ohio service territories next year. The company will also work with wind developers to identify a third location for NAS battery deployment next year, using the storage capability to help offset the intermittent nature of wind generatio