Xcel Energy to test battery storage technology in Stapleton
Xcel Energy is partnering with battery vendors Sunverge Energy and Northern Reliability, Inc. to test battery storage technology to maximize the use of rooftop solar energy while ensuring the safety and reliability of the electric grid. The two-year pilot project is taking place in Stapleton’s North Central Park and Eastbridge neighborhoods.
As customers’ demand for solar energy in their homes and businesses increases, this is a crucial time for Xcel Energy to learn how battery storage can help integrate higher concentrations of photovoltaic (PV) solar energy onto its system. The company wants to not only learn how to accommodate more solar energy onto its grid, but also manage other grid issues such as voltage regulation and peak demand, and reduce energy costs
“For the program, Xcel Energy is testing six in-home, behind-the-meter battery units and six larger, utility-scale units along the feeder that serves the majority of the North Central Park and Eastbridge neighborhoods,” said Beth Chacon, Xcel Energy’s director of grid storage and emerging technologies. “We chose the Stapleton area because it has among the highest concentrations of rooftop installations in the Denver area.”
Distribution feeders bring electricity into homes and businesses and carry the energy produced by in-home solar systems to the electric grid….
