Alaskan Energy Storage Project Will Use Flywheels Too
A Beacon Power project in Anchorage, Alaska, will use the company’s flywheel technology combined with electrochemical battery storage to construct a 320 kW system. The project is a pilot to see if it will work in conjunction with renewable forms of energy to counterbalance their periods of intermittency. If it is successful, similar systems could be built and used to support remote utilities along the Alaska Railbelt from the Kenai Peninsula to Fairbanks. Beacon is working with the Chugach Electric Association, a major local utility.
“We’re very pleased to be moving forward with Beacon on this important project to help improve Alaska’s grid and enable more efficient utilization of renewables. Beacon’s flywheel systems have a solid reputation in terms of operating performance, cyclic durability and demanding environments. This hybrid flywheel/battery project is an opportunity to bring proven next-generation technologies that have strong track records elsewhere to our state – and combine them in an innovative way,” explained Paul Risse, Chugach’s Senior VP for Power Supply.
