Wärtsilä is finalizing a 70MW energy storage and energy management system project in the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) energy market.
Together with the Wärtsilä GEMS network, the energy storage system would optimize system efficiencies and add renewable power to the grid at times when it would not be available otherwise.
Wärtsilä booked the order in late 2019, and the project will be finalized by mid-2020.
The advanced software platform of Wärtsilä GEMS can automate the installation and functionality of the existing renewable energy network of the customer and link the site to the local energy market.
By maximizing battery capacity and durability and allowing for increasing value sources, GEMS can increase revenue and ROI. For example, GEMS will facilitate “energy arbitrage” with the system’s battery storage capabilities.
This allows the consumer to buy electricity from the market when costs are low, and when short-term cost fluctuations sell back the stored energy into the market.
“This sizable 70 MW project demonstrates the growing value being placed on energy storage; there are no government programs or regulations in place that incentivised this build.”
Risto Paldanius, business development director for energy storage & optimisation at Wärtsilä Energy.
This project is the first grid-scale energy storage project for the customer and will be Wärtsilä’s largest energy storage deployment tied to a renewable resource in the western United States.
