AES Energy Storage has announced the Storage Applications Center, a grid application hub at PJM Interconnection in Audubon, Pennsylvania. The facility will be used to test and validate the next generation of storage applications in a real-world environment. The center is part of AES’ ongoing commitment to grid energy storage application design, in which it has invested more than $10 million over the past six years. AES uses these advanced application capabilities within the AES Advancion solution, a complete, battery-based alternative to peaking power plants, which it now offers to utility buyers and renewable developers in select markets.
“Battery-based energy storage has proven its capabilities as a critical grid resource over the past decade,” said John Zahurancik, Vice President, AES Energy Storage. “This facility will help us build on our proven application platform so that we can continue to offer our customers the most complete solution in the market, taking the technology available and tuning it to the evolving needs of the grid.”
Through the Storage Applications Center, AES is refining commercial applications such as dynamic voltage support, peaking capacity, real-time autonomous dispatch, faster regulation and protocols for merit order dispatch to validate the implementation capabilities of battery-based energy storage technologies for these critical services.
The Center will also expand the capabilities of the Advancion Application Agents, which are patented performance algorithms focused on market and contract requirements to automate the operation of the storage arrays, optimizing performance and efficiency for customers, and extending the life of customer storage solutions. The Application Agents manage Advancion deployments for superior performance given all market or contract-specific constraints. They have an unmatched commercial service record with five years of commercial service at the highest performance levels.
The location of the facility allows AES to integrate with and add additional demonstration services to PJM’s Innovation Showcase, which was designed to highlight emerging grid technologies. This project enables AES to validate the capabilities of the technology as it interfaces with a grid operator.
AES and PJM have a long history of demonstrating innovation within battery-based energy storage technologies. An early demonstration project led to the first commercial validation of battery-based energy storage in a market in the U.S., as well as the pioneering of the first pay for performance market rules used to incentivize resources with advanced operational capabilities, such as energy storage. AES currently operates 100 MW of energy storage resources within PJM.
“PJM works with innovators to assess the feasibility of new approaches to provide important grid services as well as the necessity for any wholesale market rule changes to unleash the potentials of new technologies and applications,” said Sarah Burlew, Manager – Applied Solutions, PJM Interconnection. “AES’ battery storage technology is one of the most visible examples.”
AES also announced today the AES Battery Integration Center, a technology hub that connects advanced battery and power control technologies from a range of suppliers into Advancion. AES currently has more than 200 MW of grid-scale, power plant equivalent flexibility resource in commercial operation and construction. AES resources are currently deployed in the United States and South America.
