Wärtsilä will supply AEP OnSite Partners with its next generation energy storage system to serve the City of Martinsville, Virginia, USA.
This first-ever GridSolv Quantum energy storage project illustrates Wärtsilä’s innovation capability. Together with a 10-year Wärtsilä Guaranteed asset performance agreement, the system is estimated to provide considerable savings to the region.
AEP OnSite Partners, a US-based customer-centric distributed energy asset solutions provider, placed an order for the device in August.
The Wärtsilä solution is expected to be delivered under an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract. The service agreement requires regular maintenance inspections, tracking of GEMS, extended product warranties, capability, availability, and assurances of success by the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland (PJM) regional transmission organization.
Wärtsilä GridSolv Quantum is a completely integrated modular and lightweight energy storage device. It is a pre-engineered and validated matrix site architecture kit designed for ease of implementation and sustainable energy optimization for different project locations and business applications.
Built for flexibility and functionality, it is a complete solution that includes different subsystems-thermal control, protection and enclosure-that work together to ensure maximum safety at the lowest cost of the lifecycle.
Key design features include UL9540A restricting 2-hour firewall envelope battery testing that ensures an improved NFPA 855 fire safety site. The approach complies with all applicable North American and international requirements.
The Wärtsilä solution is projected to be operational in the second half of 2021. The long-term service agreement will become effective when the plant starts to operate. After commissioning, Wärtsilä will recognize the order intake relevant to the agreement.
The City of Martinsville, located in Southern Virginia, has its own distribution service and operates its own system, which serves approximately 13,000 people and businesses. The project would minimize the city’s transmission and storage peak values measured in megawatts (MW) within the territory of the Appalachian Power Regional Transmission Operator (RTOE) and the PJM Regional Independent System Operator (ISO) system.
In addition to peak reductions, the device will engage in the market for quick response frequency control of PJMs. System availability, energy capacity, round trip efficiency and PJM performance will be managed by Wärtsilä and will collectively reduce the environmental impact of alternative power generation.
The market for PJM regulation is a demanding ancillary services product that offers market-based compensation for resources that can change output or consumption in response to an automated dynamic regulation of the RegD signal.
The Wärtsilä GridSolv Quantum solution, which will be managed by the company’s smart GEMS energy management program, reacts to the signal and will also reduce the city’s peak demand by an estimated 9 MW.
“This innovative storage solution is precisely what we needed to deliver solid operational and financial benefits for the City of Martinsville. The installation will enable us to help the City offset peak load periods and more effectively manage their overall energy usage and costs as well as their reliance on traditional peak energy resources.”
Joel Jansen, COO at AEP Onsite Partners.
“We look forward to the first milestone installation of the GridSolv Quantum energy storage system. In combination with our lifecycle solution, the guaranteed asset performance agreement, it represents another outstanding example of Wärtsilä’s commitment to lowering the cost and reducing the environmental impact of power generation. We have the capability to assist power providers to integrate energy storage microgrids and to increase their share of solar and wind energy.”
John Hoeft, senior business development manager, Wärtsilä Energy.
