ABB announced it will install a flywheel-based grid stabilization solution on Kodiak Island in Alaska to boost the integration of renewable energy to its microgrid.
The project is being undertaken on behalf of the Kodiak Electric Association (KEA), a cooperative owned by residents of the island.
The storage technology will support the local economy because the expanded reliable renewable power supply will allow the community to upgrade the crane system for its port.
The project is being undertaken on behalf of the Kodiak Electric Association (KEA), a cooperative owned by residents of the island. In Kodiak, KEA operates a microgrid that generates virtually all of its 28 megawatts (MW) of electricity from hydropower and wind.
The town of Kodiak, in conjunction with a shipping company, Horizon Lines, recently decided to replace the port‘s existing diesel-powered crane with a larger electrically driven crane to reduce emissions and expand the port’s capacity.
However, the larger crane is expected to generate power fluctuations that can be particularly destabilizing for an isolated grid such as that on Kodiak Island.
ABB’s innovative flywheel-based grid stabilization solution, PowerStore will ensure a stable power supply.
The solution provides a dynamic response to transient events such as those expected from the new crane, and it has the ability to carry out infinite charge and discharge cycles without degrading PowerStore’s life expectancy.
As a result, the ABB solution allows KEA to shave the peaks off the crane loads and also reduce the stresses placed on their 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.
They can store short-term energy to absorb and/or inject both real and reactive power into the microgrid. PowerStore can also 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.
Claudio Facchin, head of ABB’s Power Systems business, said, “ABB’s innovative microgrid solution 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.”