January 13, 2004

By: Adalie Schnider
Website: http://www.1st-in-batteries.com

Safts record breaking battery reinforces GVEA grid in Alaska

On August 26 Saft, the battery company, brought the first three strings of the world’s most powerful storage battery on-line to mark the official dedication of the new US$30-million BESS (Battery Energy Storage System) for the Golden Valley Electrical Association (GVEA) in Fairbanks, Alaska. The BESS will stabilise the local grid and reduce its vulnerability to events like the recent blackout in the northeastern US and Canada.

The Golden Valley BESS is configured to operate in several distinct modes, each of them aimed at stabilizing the GVEA system if power supply problems occur. This is a critical feature for this type of system and is one reason why battery energy storage is widely regarded as a vital component of the electricity delivery infrastructure of tomorrow.

During commissioning tests the Saft battery set an unofficial world record by achieving a peak discharge of 26.7 MW with just two strings operational. This makes the Alaskan BESS over 27 percent more powerful than the previous record holder - a 21 MW BESS commissioned by PREPA (the Puerto Rico Power Authority) at Sabana Llana, Puerto Rico in 1994.

Saft was awarded the contract to design and build the battery, which comprises 13,760 rechargeable cells in four parallel strings, as part of a BESS consortium led by ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, which is providing the system concept and the DC to AC power converter system. Saft is providing a ‘cradle to grave’ service by taking responsibility for the recycling of each nickel-cadmium cell.

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Author Notes:

Adalie Schnider contributes and publishes news editorial to http://www.1st-in-batteries.com.  A great resource for batteries of all kinds including camcorder, laptop, cell phone and more.