by David Flint
Beacon Power LLC broke ground and installed the first of 200 flywheels last month in Hazle Township, PA, for their second 20 megawatt flywheel based frequency regulation plant. The company is the successor to the bankrupted Beacon Power Corporation that completed construction of the first such plant in Stephentown for the New York power grid just about two years ago.
[private]Beacon’s new owners, Rockland Capital, claim to have performed a rigorous investment analysis prior to moving forward with construction of the second plant. Scott Harlan, Managing Partner at Rockland said, “We are very excited to have begun work on the Hazle project which will help improve system-wide efficiency on the PJM power grid. At 20 megawatts it will be one of the largest fast-response energy storage resources in that market.” The initial four megawatts are expected to be operational in September with the full 20 megawatt plant operational in the second quarter of 2014.
Some fault the U.S Department of Energy for forcing the Beacon Power Corporation in bankruptcy to sell the Stephentown plant and its other assets rather than accepting an arrangement to repay a $39.1 million loan balance while reorganizing and keeping the company viable. The DOE, however, apparently still believes in – and takes some credit for – the technology. At the groundbreaking ceremonies in Hazle, Imre Gyuk, head of energy storage for the DOE, stated that, “Flywheel systems promise to be an efficient and cost effective way to provide frequency regulation. DOE is proud to have taken part in the development of this technology from the very beginning. Flywheels will become an important tool in assuring the resiliency and reliability of the grid.”
Following the bankruptcy in late 2011, some in this area have wondered whether the Stephentown plant located on Grange Hall Road was still operating or was just sitting there abandoned. The question has come up at Stephentown Town Board meetings several times. According to a statement from Beacon Power LLC, the plant has been in continual operation since it started up and the flywheels have
performed more than 4,000 full charge/discharge cycles per year with more than 95% accuracy. Barry Brits, Beacon’s CEO, said that the flywheels “are the best resource available for correcting unpredictable, real time supply and demand changes on electricity grids and they have proven their durability and reliability with more than three million flywheel operating hours to date.”
Kate Muller, Director of Communications at NYSERDA, confirmed that the plant is operating at 100% capability. “The plant continues to meet NYSERDA’s expectations,” she said, “and will continue to be an important supplier of regulation service as the New York electric grid incorporates more renewable energy including wind and solar.”
Kenneth Klapp, Media Relations Specialist for the New York Independent System Operator, the manager of the New York grid, said that the NYISO has determined that Limited Energy Storage Resources (LESRs) such as Beacon Power’s flywheel systems, “can instantaneously switch from being a load to a generator, thus providing regulation service similar to that of a conventional power plant. LESRs are ideal for responding to the moment to moment adjustments needed to operate the bulk electricity grid. Looking forward, LESRs will continue to be a major component of NYISO’s ‘Smart Grid’ technologies.”[/private]