The Alaskan city of Kotzebue has integrated a Saft lithium-ion (Li-ion) energy storage system (ESS) into its off-grid microgrid. The ESS enables the hybrid wind-diesel power system to achieve its full potential, providing cleaner, more reliable and less expensive power to a remote community of 3,700 people.
Kotzebue is located 30 miles north of the Arctic Circle, far from the nearest transmission grid. Historically, KEA (Kotzebue Electric Association), the city’s electricity cooperative, has relied on diesel generators. However, since the late 1990s KEA has committed to making every effort to reduce its dependence on diesel and has invested in wind energy. But the intermittent nature of the wind meant that KEA still had to run its diesel generators, often resulting in curtailment when the wind turbines were providing their peak output. This challenge prompted KEA to seek a solution to utilizeits excess wind capacity.
Maintaining stability and minimizing curtailment
In general, an ESS becomes essential to maintain grid stability when the penetration of renewables within a microgrid rises above 50 percent. In KEA’s case its wind capacity of 2.9 MW is close to its 3 MW peak load, so the same ESS can also time-shift wind energy to help minimize curtailment.
KEA added a Saft Intensium® Max+ 20M ESS to its microgrid with two key aims:
- to achieve the full potential of its wind power by riding through fluctuations in output and time-shifting wind energy,
- to facilitate operation in ‘diesel-off’ mode with power provided only by a combination of wind and storage during periods of high wind and low load.
KEA microgrid – key facts
- Serves a remote off-grid community of 3,700 people
- Winter temperatures can fall to -50°C
- Combines diesel generators, wind turbines and energy storage
- 3 MW peak load
- 19 wind turbines – total 2.9 MW
- 6 diesel generators – total 11 MW
- 500 MW solar planned for the future
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