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Battery system will be able to light 2,500 homes

September 29, 2014 in Battery Energy Storage, BYD, Environment, EV News, Greentech, Large Energy Storage

By Laura Margoni, UC San Diego

Considered one of the most advanced microgrids in the world, the UC San Diego microgrid generates 92 percent of the electricity used on campus annually. Photo courtesy of UC San Diego

Considered one of the most advanced microgrids in the world, the UC San Diego microgrid generates 92 percent of the electricity used on campus annually.
Photo courtesy of UC San Diego

One of the largest, most environmentally-friendly, battery-based energy storage systems in the nation will be installed at the University of California, San Diego the campus announced today (Sept. 29).

The 2.5 megawatt (MW), 5 megawatt-hour (MWh) system — enough to power 2,500 homes — will be integrated into the university’s microgrid, which generates 92 percent of the electricity used on campus annually and is considered one of the world’s most advanced microgrids. A microgrid is a small-scale version of a traditional large power grid that controls energy from clean sources such as wind and solar power, as well as from conventional technology. It can be connected to a larger electric grid, but can also work independently.

“UC San Diego is committed to practices that promote sustainability and innovation, not just on our campus, but in our community and our world,” said Gary C. Matthews, vice chancellor for resource management and planning. “Energy storage has the potential to transform the global energy landscape. It can help make renewable energy sources more reliable and is critical to a resilient, efficient, clean and cost-effective grid. We are proud to help advance this technology.”

Energy storage systems are technologies that convert electricity into another form of stored energy and then convert the energy back to electricity at another time. Energy storage helps integrate intermittent renewable resources, such as solar power, and provides power when it is needed for consumption. The technology is considered key to enhancing grid reliability as well as grid resiliency in the face of adverse conditions.

Energy storage is considered so important that the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) decided last year to establish an unprecedented energy storage target: 1.3 gigawatts (GW) of energy storage is to be procured and installed by three of the state’s investor-owned utilities by 2024. The CPUC’s mandate broke new ground by trying to establish a regulatory system in which utilities, third-party storage providers and potentially customer-owned storage assets can play an integrated role.

The 2.5 MW, 5 MWh energy storage system at UC San Diego was purchased from BYD, the world’s largest supplier of rechargeable batteries. BYD’s energy storage system uses high performance lithium-ion iron-phosphate batteries that are known for being highly reliable and environmentally-friendly. The company’s rechargeable batteries contain no heavy metals or toxic electrolytes and, during the manufacturing process, all caustic or harmful materials are avoided. The batteries are also considered non-explosive and fire-safe, even in direct flames. The company has supplied more than 100 MWh of fixed energy storage stations around the world.

“UC San Diego is renowned for their efforts in green energy production technologies and we are thrilled to partner with them,” said Stella Li, BYD senior vice president. “Together, we seek to ensure that renewable power can be utilized as a reliable generation source enabled by environmentally-friendly battery storage.”

The 2.5 MW, 5 MWh energy storage system is the latest addition to UC San Diego’s portfolio of energy storage devices—one of the most diverse energy storage portfolios of any university in the world. Other devices currently in place include the following with additional energy storage projects being planned as well:

  1. 30 kilowatt (KW) ultracapacitor-based energy storage system from Maxwell Technologies, Inc. The system will be combined with Soitec’s Concentrated Photovoltaic (CPV) Technology, which is already installed on campus.
  2. Second-life battery demonstration site. Although electric vehicle batteries usually only have a vehicle lifetime of eight to 10 years, they still have significant capacity left for alternative uses, such as stationary energy storage.
  3. 3.8 million gallon thermal energy storage. Waste heat from the plant also is used as a power source for a water chiller that fills a 4 million gallon storage tank at night with cold water. The water is used during the warmest time of day to cool campus buildings.

Once the 2.5 MW, 5 MWh advanced energy storage system is installed in spring 2015, UC San Diego will be eligible for up to $3.25 million in financial incentives through the Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP). SGIP is a California ratepayer-funded rebate program that provides incentives for the installation of clean and efficient distributed generation technologies. The program is overseen by the CPUC, and is available to retail electric and gas customers of the four California investor-owned utilities: Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, South California Gas and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E). The Center for Sustainable Energy is the program administrator for the SGIP for the SDG&E territory.

This article is an EV News Report repost, credit: UC San Diego.

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Engineers develop algorithms to switch out and recharge battery modules in electric cars

September 29, 2014 in Battery Energy Storage, Electric Vehicles, EV charging, EV News

Imagine being able to switch out the batteries in electric cars just like you switch out batteries in a photo camera or flashlight. A team of engineers at the University of California, San Diego, are trying to accomplish just that, in partnership with a local San Diego engineering company.

Rather than swapping out the whole battery, which is cumbersome and requires large, heavy equipment, engineers plan to swap out and recharge smaller units within the battery, known as modules. They named the project Modular Battery Exchange and Active Management, or M-BEAM for short (http://www.modularexchange.com).

Engineers have already purchased and converted a car, a 2002 four-door Volkswagen Golf. They also built all the modules for one of the two battery packs they plan to use and are now looking for sponsors for their project, including companies or individuals that appreciate the benefits of having small exchangeable battery modules in an electric vehicle.

“This is a game-changing technology,” said Lou Shrinkle, an electrical engineer who is one of the major sponsors of the project. “This idea may seem straightforward, but there were some tough technical challenges that we had to solve to make this system robust and practical.”

Swapping battery modules could also have far-reaching implications for mobile and decentralized electrical energy storage systems such as solar backup and portable generators. The technology can make energy storage more configurable, promote safety, simplify maintenance and eventually eliminate the use of fossil fuels for these applications, Shrinkle pointed out

Engineers not only believe that their approach is viable, but also plan to prove it. They will embark on a cross-country trip with a car powered by the removable, rechargeable M-BEAM battery modules. They plan to drive from coast to coast only taking breaks that are a few minutes long to swap out the modules that will be recharged in a chase vehicle. They believe they can drive from San Diego to the coast of South Carolina less than 60 hours—without going over the speed limit.

“This requires a completely different way of thinking on battery management,” said Raymond de Callafon, a mechanical engineering professor at the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego. “Electric storage capacity is increased when modules are connected in parallel, but this requires a careful control of stray currents between modules.”

Algorithms for charge estimation and current control

A team led by de Callafon is designing the algorithms for charge estimation and current control, implemented in an embedded system that is part of the battery management system for each module. The algorithms will be able to handle battery modules with different charge levels, chemistry, age and condition and keep the modules working together uniformly. The team has published their findings in a recent paper titled “Current Scheduling for Parallel Buck Regulated Battery Modules” in the IFAC World Congress held in Cape Town, South Africa in August, 2014.

Xin Zhao, the graduate student that is part of the team, explains in the paper that rechargeable, removable battery modules in electric cars would solve numerous problems. Being able to simply swap and combine battery modules would eliminate range anxiety and extend the range that cars are able to travel indefinitely — the average range of most affordable electric vehicles is about 70 to 100 miles per charge. Batteries themselves take 4 to 12 hours to charge with conventional power sources. Newer, fast-charge technology still takes about 30 minutes and involves running very high power through batteries, shortening their lifetime and reducing safety.

What would change

The team says there are many advantages in their approach of recharging and swapping out smaller modules within a large battery. The approach allows for a separation between the purchase of an electric vehicle and its battery pack. The price of electric vehicles would drop by about $10,000 if removable battery modules are leased rather than built into an electric vehicle.

Also, as of today, more than 40 percent of people living in cities don’t have access to wall outlets to charge their electrical vehicles at the curb or in a garage. Exchangeable modules could be taken out of the car and recharged at home. Exchangeable modules would also allow an expanded mix of chemistries and energy densities lowering costs and improving range. Removable batteries could even be brought into the home to be charged and be part of an electricity back-up system.

Challenges and future work

But there are challenges. At 20 to 30 lbs. each, the modules are not exactly light-weight. Researchers believe that as battery technology matures, module size will shrink to about the size of a tissue box, weighing less than 10 lbs. The ability to swap battery modules from an electric vehicle allows easy adaptation of such new battery technology.

A battery system based on exchangeable modules would also need an infrastructure that allows users to lease or purchase the rechargeable modules. Businesses that either charge the modules or rent out pre-charged modules would also need to be available throughout the country. But engineers point out that electric vehicle charging stations, especially fast-charge stations, are not widely available either. Exchange stations could easily be gradually deployed. Imagine simply exchanging your modules at the local gas station that charges them for you, much like you can fill up propane tanks today.

Electric shock can also be a risk during removal and replacement of high voltage modules. The battery management system developed by the research team ensures that the output voltage of the battery is equal to zero unless the battery is in the vehicle and enabled by a key switch. Modules are configured to exhibit only safe low voltages even when fully compromised during and after a crash and have built-in solid-state switches to handle a short circuit condition.

Professor de Callafon is excited about the design and testing of the battery modules using a cross-country trip with an electric vehicle. “The cross-country trip will generate a wealth of scientific data on the performance of the battery modules we have designed.” The team hopes that the cross-country trip will change the way we think about mobile energy storage for electric transportation.

This article (9-16-14) is an EV News Report repost, credit: UC San Diego.

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SCE Unveils Largest Battery Energy Storage Project in North America

September 24, 2014 in Battery Energy Storage, Environment, EV News, Large Energy Storage, Solar, Wind

ROSEMEAD, Calif. — For Southern California Edison (SCE), building a smarter grid started many years ago with smart meters and upgrades in distribution equipment. Today, the company takes another leap forward with the opening of the largest battery energy storage project in North America — the Tehachapi Energy Storage Project — to modernize the grid to integrate more clean energy.

The demonstration project is funded by SCE and federal stimulus money awarded by the Department of Energy as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The 32 megawatt-hours battery energy storage system features lithium-ion batteries housed inside a 6,300 square-foot facility at SCE’s Monolith substation in Tehachapi, Calif. The project is strategically located in the Tehachapi Wind Resource Area that is projected to generate up to 4,500 MW of wind energy by 2016.

“This installation will allow us to take a serious look at the technological capabilities of energy storage on the electric grid,” said Dr. Imre Gyuk, energy storage program manager in the energy department’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability. “It will also help us to gain a better understanding of the value and benefit of battery energy storage.”

The project costs about $50 million with matching funds from SCE and the energy department. Over a two-year period, the project will demonstrate the performance of the lithium-ion batteries in actual system conditions and the capability to automate the operations of the battery energy storage system and integrate its use into the utility grid.

“The Tehachapi Energy Storage Project is a significant milestone for SCE and for energy storage in California” said Doug Kim, director of Advanced Technology at SCE. “Grid-scale energy storage is an integral part of our company’s Storage Portfolio Development Framework that will contribute to optimizing grid performance and integrating more renewable energy resources. This demonstration project will give us a significant amount of insight into the operational capabilities of large-scale, lithium-ion battery storage.”

Primary goals of the project are to demonstrate the effectiveness of lithium-on battery and smart inverter technologies for improved grid performance and to assist in the integration of variable renewable energy resources like wind and solar power.

The battery system supplied by LG Chem is comprised of 604 battery racks, 10,872 battery modules and 608,832 individual battery cells – the same lithium-ion cells installed in battery packs for General Motors’ Chevrolet Volt.

“The successful commissioning of the Tehachapi Storage Project marks a key milestone for LG Chem in delivering large-scale energy storage solutions,” said Sung-Hoon Jang, vice president of the Energy Solution Company at LG Chem.  “As a turnkey solutions provider, LG Chem looks forward to its continued collaboration with SCE during the next two years of system operation. The role of energy storage in the electric grid will continue to increase with the growth of renewable energy and distributed energy systems and our collaboration with SCE will provide key insights for current and future energy storage projects.”

About Southern California Edison

An Edison International (NYSE:EIX) company, Southern California Edison is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities, serving a population of nearly 14 million via 4.9 million customer accounts in a 50,000-square-mile service area within Central, Coastal and Southern California.

This article is a repost, credit: SCE.

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ABB to enable integration of renewables in Alaskan island microgrid

September 12, 2014 in Battery Energy Storage, Environment, EV News, Greentech, Large Energy Storage, Wind

Innovative solution to enable Kodiak island to integrate more renewable energy and stabilize power supply across its remote and isolated microgrid

Kodiak, Alaska Photo courtesy of ABB

Kodiak, Alaska
Photo courtesy of ABB

Zurich, Switzerland – ABB, the leading power and automation group, will install its PowerStore, an integrated commercial flywheel technology to integrate with a battery system on Kodiak Island in Alaska to enable the integration of more renewable energy from an expanded wind farm to its microgrid and also to address stability challenges that will arise from a crane upgrade being undertaken to enhance its port operations. The project is being undertaken on behalf of Kodiak Electric Association (KEA), an electric cooperative owned by residents of the Island.

Kodiak Island, off Alaska’s south coast, is the second largest island in the United States. Its population of 15,000 people live in just seven communities, the largest in the port town of Kodiak. KEA operates a microgrid that generates virtually all of its 28 megawatts (MW) of electricity capacity from hydropower and wind.

The City of Kodiakin conjunction with Horizon Lines recently decided to upgrade its existing crane to an electrically driven crane instead of a diesel driven one and expand its capabilities.The installation of the larger crane is expected to generate power fluctuations that can be particularly destabilizing for an isolated grid like the one on Kodiak Island. PowerStore’s dynamic response to transient events such as those expected from the new crane as well as the ability to carry out infinite charge and discharge cycles without degrading the PowerStore’s life expectancy make it an ideal fit.

“Expanding the crane operations at the port posed a challenge because it meant that we would likely have to rely more heavily on our fossil fuel-based generators,” said Darron Scott, president and chief executive officer of KEA. “Not only will the ABB solution allow us to shave the peaks off the crane loads, it will also reduce the stresses placed on our battery systems and extend their lifespans.”

ABB’s solution incorporates two 1 MW PowerStore grid stabilization generators that are based on a fast-acting, spinning flywheel with ABB inverters to store short term energy to absorb and/or inject both real and reactive power onto the microgrid. PowerStore can switch from a full-power charge to a full-power discharge in less than 5 milliseconds. Besides providing voltage and frequency support for the new crane, the PowerStore units will extend the life of the two 1.5 MW battery systems and help to manage the intermittencies from the island’s 9 MW wind farm.

“Remote locations like islands may be rich in renewable energy sources, but the intermittent nature makes their integration into the power grid a challenge,” said Claudio Facchin, head of ABB’s Power Systems business. “ABB’s innovative microgrid solution as in this case includes grid stabilization technology that enables high penetration of renewable power generation, and distributed control systems that provide intelligent power management and efficient hybrid power plant operation.”

PowerStore is one of two core technologies comprising ABB’s Microgrid Plus, enabling penetration of renewable energies up to 100 percent and facilitating their integration into a microgrid with a high level of grid stability. The second core technology is the MGC600 decentralized microgrid control system, which consists of control modules distributed across the microgrid area. These modules communicate with each other on a peer-to-peer basis, providing a high level of flexibility and redundancy.

ABB has designed and delivered solutions for more than 80 microgrids worldwide, for a wide range of applications.

ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility, industry, and transport and infrastructure customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 145,000 people.

This article is a repost, credit: ABB.

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Renault and Bolloré form a partnership in electric vehicles

September 9, 2014 in Battery Energy Storage, Car sharing, Electric Vehicles, EV News, Renault

Carlos GHOSN and Vincent BOLLORE During the signature of the agreement between the two groups, Renault and Bolloré, on the electric vehicle. Photo credit: Luc PERENOM Courtesy of Renault

Carlos GHOSN and Vincent BOLLORE
During the signature of the agreement between the two groups, Renault and Bolloré, on the electric vehicle.
Photo credit: Luc PERENOM
Courtesy of Renault

Following the letter of intent signed in September 2013, French groups Renault and Bolloré are joining forces to promote electric vehicles as part of three agreements relating to: 

  1. industrial cooperation: the Renault plant in Dieppe (Normandy, France) will assemble Bluecar electric vehicles for the Bolloré Group from second-half 2015,
  2. the founding of a joint-venture to sell complete electric car-sharing solutions in France and Europe,
  3. a feasibility survey, commissioned by the Bolloré group to the Renault Group, on design, development and production by Renault of a new urban electric vehicle with a 20 kWh lithium metal polymer (LMP) battery.

The development of electric vehicles is key to address environmental issues, particularly air quality and mobility in towns and cities.

Reducing environmental impact

In order to significantly reduce the environmental impact of cars, the development of electric vehicles and car-sharing is not an option; it is a necessary transformation.

The overall environmental impact of an electric vehicle is virtually half that of an equivalent internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle*. Electric vehicles emit no CO2, smells or fine particles (excluding wear parts) in use. As a result, they significantly improve air quality and noise levels, particularly in the city. Without electric vehicles, improvements in urban air quality will be slow, driven only by the renewal of the ICE vehicle parc and by changes to regulations on pollutant emissions.

Electric vehicles are particularly enjoyable to drive. Since their launch, they have built up a customer base that includes both consumers and business fleets. The electric vehicle market has kicked off at a pace that is 20 times faster than the hybrid market in its time. Sales of electric vehicles are growing worldwide: + 100% in France, +250% in the USA, +50% in Germany (2013 vs 2012).

For this reason, the Renault and Bolloré groups have decided to build on their complementarity. The Renault group has expertise in the design, development and production of electric vehicles (ZOE, Kangoo, Twizy). The Bolloré group is a key player in electricity storage solutions, a field whose applications include car-sharing programs based on all-electric vehicles. This application is recognized today with the success of Autolib in Paris.

* based on a comparative study of Fluence ICE and electric, available on group.renault.com

1- industrial cooperation agreement

The Bolloré Group has commissioned Renault, European leader in electric vehicles, to gradually take over assembly of the Bluecar, formerly built solely in Italy. The vehicles will be assembled at the Renault plant in Dieppe (Normandy, France) from the second-half of 2015. For the Dieppe plant, this decision is an acknowledgement of its expertise and a promise for its future activity.

The Dieppe plant specializes in building vehicles in small series. It currently builds Clio IV R.S. and is set to build the future Alpine, scheduled for launch in 2016. The Dieppe plant will be able to rely on the expertise of the Renault group in electric vehicles to acquire the skills necessary to assemble this type of vehicle. A new final assembly workshop will be set up specially within the plant to build these vehicles. The Bolloré group will thus have access to a modern production tool tailored to its requirements and delivering a significant reduction in costs.

Blueindy car sharing, Indianapolis Photo courtesy of Blueindy

BlueIndy car sharing, Indianapolis
Photo courtesy of BlueIndy

2- founding of a joint-venture in car-sharing

With a number of cities now taking coercive measures to address air quality and congestion by limiting traffic, the Renault and Bolloré groups have decided to set up a joint-venture, whose aim will be to win and install complete electric car-sharing solutions in France and Europe. The Renault group will hold a 30% interest in the joint-venture, while the Bolloré group will own 70%.

As part of this agreement, from the second-half of 2014, customers using car-sharing networks in Lyon (Bluely) and Bordeaux (Bluecub) will be able to choose a Twizy, a vehicle that is different but complementary with the Bluecar, already available on a car-sharing basis in both Lyon and Bordeaux.

Renault vehicles will be gradually integrated with the car-sharing fleet to reach a proportion of 30% as quickly as possible.

3- feasibility study for a 3-seater bluecar

The Bolloré group has asked Renault to conduct a feasibility survey on the design, development and production in a Renault group plant in France of a smaller car than the existing Bluecar (three seats instead of four), able to support the expansion of car-sharing initiatives. This vehicle could also be sold to consumers, companies and municipalities.

This electric vehicle will ship with a Blue Solutions lithium-metal-polymer (LMP) battery with a capacity of 20 kWh.

This article is a repost, credit: Renault.

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