RES has completed the Scott Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) pilot project constructed on behalf of Dominion Energy. The 12-MW/48-MWh project consists of three independent systems located at one site — an AC-coupled battery and two DC-coupled batteries retrofitted to an existing solar PV facility — the first project of its kind in Virginia.
“The completion of this pilot project represents a milestone for RES and Dominion as it paves the way for additional energy storage projects needed to support a carbon free future,” said John Rohde, CEO of RES in the Americas. “We couldn’t be more proud to have partnered alongside a company as dedicated to providing clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy as Dominion Energy. This is a huge achievement for everyone involved.”
The AC-coupled BESS is a 10-MW, 4-hour system which seeks to align peak production with peak load demand. It is the first BESS in the country to utilize CATL battery cells and Dynapower components with RES’s RESolve EMS controller.
The two DC-coupled batteries are each 1-MW, 4-hour systems that are charged by capturing clipped energy (energy that would otherwise be lost when a solar panel’s output potential exceeds the amount of power an inverter can convert) directly from the existing solar panels. The batteries integrate the same technology into the existing inverters via custom-built recombiner boxes and Reverse Current Mitigation devices specifically engineered and designed by RES, EVS and ConnectPV.
News item from RES
“The two DC-coupled batteries are each 1-MW, 4-hour systems that are charged by capturing clipped energy (energy that would otherwise be lost when a solar panel’s output potential exceeds the amount of power an inverter can convert) directly from the existing solar panels.”
This is a smart move, to grab clipped generation, instead of let it charge up the D.C. buss and sit there. The most egregious is to curtail an entire solar PV string or strings then use fueled electric generation to ramp around grid load demands in emergency standby mode.