South Street Storage battery energy storage system will lower costs during peak energy demand and increase grid flexibility.
MIDDLEBURY, VT — Encore Renewable Energy has energized South Street Storage, a 2MW, 8MWh utility scale battery energy storage system, located next to the South Street Solar project in Middlebury. South Street Storage is Encore’s first energy storage project and will provide vital demand mitigation services and cost savings to Green Mountain Power (GMP) and its customers.
“The past few years of intense storms and record heat have demonstrated the importance of a dependable electric grid, and we need more energy storage for that,” said Encore founder and co-CEO, Chad Farrell. “Thankfully there are leading utilities like Green Mountain Power, who have long understood the value of locally sited energy storage for keeping our electricity supply clean and affordable.”
The lithium-ion battery systems for this project were provided by KORE Power. KORE, a leading domestic manufacturer of battery energy storage systems, built the units installed by Encore at its Waterbury, VT facility. KORE’s operation’s team will also be coordinating with Encore to monitor the system’s performance.
“The South Street Storage project is a model of well-orchestrated grid modernization that is made possible when a developer, a manufacturer and a utility share the vision of delivering safe, reliable, clean power to customers,” said Jay Bellows, CEO of KORE Power. “Through this coordination the teams from Encore, KORE and Green Mountain Power will deliver affordable power that is there when it is needed.”
The 2MW energy system at South Street adds to GMP’s growing network of stored energy, now over 75 MW, making it Vermont’s largest source of dispatchable power.
“When Vermont organizations work together, great things happen for communities and customers. This project will help deliver lower power costs during expensive peaks, by sending stored clean Vermont energy back to the grid when it’s needed most,” said Mari McClure, GMP’s President and CEO.
Solar and energy storage are ideal partners and integrating energy storage into the power grid can transform our existing energy infrastructure and facilitate the clean energy transition by converting power generated from an intermittent fuel source like the sun or wind into dispatchable power, increasing grid flexibility.
As the climate continues to warm, peak demand events like June’s heat wave will become more prevalent; energy storage provides the ability to store extra energy from times when electricity demand is lower to utilize it when it’s most needed, saving customers significant amounts of money.
The team at Encore Renewable Energy® is proud to be certified as a B Corp, joining over 3,500 other businesses worldwide who also share a commitment to social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency.