NEDO SILICON VALLEY NEWS VOL. 28 – ENERGY STORAGE DEMONSTRATION PROJECT LAUNCHED

3/23/2017

A commencement ceremony to launch the “Demonstration Project for Validation of Redox Flow Battery Performance in California” was held on March 16 at San Diego Gas & Electric’s San Miguel Substation. Mr. Makoto Watanabe, Executive Director of NEDO; Mr. Junji Itoh, Managing Director of Sumitomo Electric Co., Ltd.; Ms. Caroline A. Winn, Chief Operating Officer of SDG & E; Mr. David Hochschild, Commissioner of the California Energy Commission; and Mr. Sid Voorakkara, Deputy Director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development participated in the ceremony. Consul General Mr. Akira Chiba of the Consulate-General of Japan in Los Angeles also attended.

The State of California has a high renewable portfolio standard of 50% renewables by 2030. However, issues caused by the increased generation  from solar power including rapid demand fluctuations that occur in the morning and evening, known as the Duck Curve, as well as deterioration of power quality have become more apparent. Utilities are therefore required to install large-scale energy storage systems as part of their grid infrastructure under California’s Assembly Bill 2514. Public utility organizations have jointly developed an energy storage roadmap with the aim of expanding revenue opportunities for energy storage systems.

In order to contribute to such efforts, NEDO’s battery demonstration project will feature a megawatt-scale redox flow battery system that is the first of its kind in the United States. Redox flow batteries are expected to be an effective solution to addressing renewable energy related issues as they can be used for both fast response and long duration applications. NEDO will entrust its work for implementing the project to Sumitomo Electric Industries, Inc., which will carry out the project in cooperation with SDG&E and grid operators.