Construction on 7 MW Ohio energy storage facility slated for mid-October
Construction on a 7 MW solar energy storage facility in Ohio is scheduled to begin this month, with completion expected next February. It will be tied to a PV plant, which will be online by the end of the year. The decision to add storage was made following the introduction of a bill, which saw negative changes to Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SREC) requirements.
The solar+storage system is expected to be the biggest of its kind in the U.S. when complete. American Renewable Energy and Power LLC (AREP) is developing both systems, while Half Moon Ventures (HMV) is the owner.
A spokesperson for AREP tells pv magazine construction on the 4.31 MW solar PV project, located in Minster, is already underway, with work scheduled for completion this December. Design Energy of Columbus providing construction management services.
S&C Electric Company contracted by HMV this September, meanwhile, to provide EPC services to the energy storage component of the project, which will comprise S&C’s PureWave Storage Management System. Work on this element should begin in mid-October and be completed by next February.
While battery costs are said to comprise around 50% of the overall storage project costs, according to S&C, no details were available on the total investment amount (for either the solar or storage systems). “While we cannot disclose the value of the contract, we expect the [storage] system to pay for itself within 3-4 years, depending on PJM market constructs,” a spokesperson for the company said.
Storage not planned
Originally, AREP presented the solar project to Minster city council in March 2014 and a PPA was approved two months later, in June. However, legislation passed last July – SB 310 – saw changes to SRECs, including a freezing of scheduled increases for two years; and the termination of a requirement that 50% of the SRECs purchased to meet the terms of the state Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) be produced in Ohio.
