174 Power Global is dedicating its 9-MW_DC solar-plus-storage system generation facility in Jacksonville, Florida, this week. 174 Power Global will own and operate the SunPort Solar facility, and Jacksonville Electric Authority (JEA) will purchase the power for the next 25 years.

“The technology in this type of facility puts Florida in a leading role with regard to utility scale solar,” said 174 Power Global president Henry Yun, PhD. “A DC-coupled system means the energy is captured and stored at the DC level, preventing a loss in efficiency compared to traditional energy storage systems which capture the energy to be stored after it’s converted to alternating current (AC). This technology provides similar benefits to that of net metering, where the utility agrees to purchase excess power. However, many of those mandates have been reached, so this is a huge step in the right direction on the national level and it’s been great to work with JEA to bring this to fruition.”

JEA serves nearly 500,000 electricity customers and is committed to procuring its energy from renewable sources, including putting the sun to use in the sunshine state by harvesting solar energy. 174 Power Global broke ground on the project in April. The energy from this project will be provided to JEA SolarSmart customers, a program which offers home and business owners the opportunity to go solar without installing equipment.

“We are very excited for 174 Power Global’s SunPort Solar system to join our grid,” said Steven McInall, JEA’s VP of energy and water planning. “This is the first utility-scale battery storage on the JEA grid, and it will provide us an opportunity to see how storage can integrate with our system. We believe that utility-scale storage is the key to having even greater levels of renewables in the future.”

The single-axis tracker project will enable the solar panels to follow the sun from east to west every day, improving the overall energy output from the system. Numerous partners helped make this project possible, including Sungrow, NexTracker, Performance Contracting Inc. (PCI), Prosser and Westwood Engineering. The solar power plant includes 27,260 Q.POWER L-G5.2 320/325 and Q.PLUS L-G4.2 345 solar photovoltaic (PV) modules, provided by Q CELLS. This project will be 174 Power Global and Sungrow’s first utility-scale solar plus DC-coupled battery energy storage system (BESS) collaboration in the United States.

“174 Power Global selected Sungrow for the portfolio due to Sungrow’s sophisticated and integrated offer, proven experience and bankability,” remarks Henry Yun, President at 174 Power Global. “Their 1500Vdc DC-Coupled solution matches well with our requirements for implementing solar power, and we’re happy to work with Sungrow on this project to deliver clean, reliable and cost-effective renewable energy to communities in Jacksonville.”

The project integrates Sungrow’s all-inclusive solar energy solution consisting of 1500 Vdc PV turnkey station SG2500U and all-in-one DC-DC Energy Storage System (ESS) solution ST1918KWH-D750HV. The containerized 1500Vdc 2.5MW solution features high efficiency and high DC/AC ratio of 1.5, ensuring an optimized LCOE. The ESS solution, which integrates PCS and Li-ion battery, local controller, saving thousands of dollars compared to existing solutions that require the purchase of separate component parts in order to achieve comparable functionality.

“174 Power Global has proven its solar development abilities in the U.S. market and now expanding its expertise beyond generation. This project showcases 174 Power Global’s ability to bring new products to the industry, such as energy storage in this case, to support Florida’s renewable energy efforts,” said Duhyoung Ryoo, CEO of Hanwha Energy. “We are thrilled to work with JEA to bring clean energy to Florida’s grid in a big way that solves problems through innovation.”

News item from 174 Power Global. Updated on Nov. 21