“Duke Energy’s research work on microgrids has led to a large-scale effort that will better serve, not only these customers in a remote area, but also help us gain experience from this pilot project to better serve all customers with additional distributed energy and energy storage technologies,” said Dr. Zak Kuznar, Duke Energy’s managing director of Microgrid and Energy Storage Development.
The Hot Springs microgrid will consist of a 2-MW (AC) solar facility and a 4-MW lithium-based battery storage facility. The microgrid will provide energy and additional bulk system benefits for all customers. This will include reliability services to the electric grid, such as frequency and voltage regulation and ramping support and capacity during system peaks.
The project is part of Duke Energy's plan to meet power demand by balancing public input, environmental impacts and the need to provide customers with safe, reliable and affordable energy.
Another component of that plan includes the city of Asheville where Duke Energy will connect a 9-MW lithium-ion battery system at a Duke Energy substation site in the Rock Hill community – near Sweeten Creek Road. The battery will primarily be used to help the electric system operate more efficiently and reliably for customers.
Together, the two projects will cost around $30 million and should be operational in early 2020.
In Haywood County, North Carolina, Duke Energy has a 95-kWh- zinc-air battery and 10-kW solar installation serving a communications tower on Mount Sterling in the Smoky Mountains National Park that has been operating since 2017. It is also currently working on proposed projects in South Carolina.
