Public utility Alliant Energy Corp. successfully integrated the Madison, Wisc.-headquartered utility’s first battery energy storage system, a 100 MW installation located adjacent to its 200 MW Grant County solar power project.
According to Alliant, the battery system will store energy from the solar farm as well as other sources when demand is low, releasing it onto the power grid as needed. The battery system is located in the town of Potosi, Wisc.
Energy storage infrastructure is part of Alliant Energy's strategy and a key part of bolstering investments in renewable energy, according to a press release from the utility. Battery storage positions Alliant to meet demand, reduce the need for traditional power grid updates and ensures preparedness for outages and severe weather.
Alliant also plans an energy storage system using a different technology, the Columbia Energy Storage Project, which is a long-duration energy storage system using an “energy dome” technology. That project is led by Alliant in partnership with Wisconsin Public Service Corp., a unit of WEC Energy Group, Madison Gas and Electric, and the Electric Power Research Institute. The project will be built beginning in 2026 south of Portage, Wisconsin, in the town of Pacific, on the site of the current Columbia Energy Center.
Alliant serves about 1 million electricity customers in Wisconsin and Iowa. Interstate Power and Light Co. (IPL) and Wisconsin Power and Light Co. (WPL) are Alliant Energy's two public energy companies.
