Allstream Insiders
BOSTON, Oct. 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Elevate Renewables has been selected to receive $27.5 million in federal funding under the U.S. Department of Energy’s (“DOE”) Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program for the Innovative Inertia Project at the Devon Generating Station in Milford, CT.
The project seeks to reconfigure an existing fossil-fueled peaking unit and enable the deployment of a battery energy storage system (BESS) to provide synchronous condensing (“green sync”) and other essential grid services. It focuses on repurposing existing energy infrastructure as traditional thermal resources retire (brownfields) and intermittent and renewable resources increasingly become the predominant resources on the grid.
Elevate will demonstrate that BESS can provide inertia and synchronous condensing – remedying any immediate imbalance between electrical supply and system demand on the power grid services historically offered by fossil fuel assets. The integration of this technology can contribute to grid stability as Connecticut and the United States progress through clean energy transition. It also promises to deliver community and decarbonization benefits by reducing emissions and supporting greater adoption of renewable energy sources. The company will partner with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP) and the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (CT PURA).
“This project is an example of how batteries, in conjunction with existing infrastructure, can yield a win-win solution to help reduce our everyday reliance on fossil fuels while also benefiting existing power plant employees and the communities”, stated Eric Cherniss, head of development at Elevate Renewables.
“As extreme weather events continue to stress electric systems across the country, the current federal administration is using every tool to make sure America’s power grid can provide reliable, affordable power,” said Maria Robinson, Director, Grid Deployment Office of DOE. “By repurposing an existing power generating facility and combining it with a new battery energy storage system, this project has the potential to provide important grid stability services and help make the electric grid more affordable, reliable, and clean”, added DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes.
Scalability Potential
With over 1,000 combustion turbine sites across the U.S., the project has the potential to be scaled nationwide and could serve as a model for similar brownfield repurposing efforts. Additionally, the project is commited to contracting businesses that are majority-owned or controlled by underrepresented persons, also hiring workers from vulnerable or underrepresented communities for construction.
This project is anticipated to be executed in collaboration with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and other existing unions. Established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the GRIP Program is a $10.5 billion investment to enhance grid flexibility, improve the resilience of the power system against extreme weather. GRIP funding is administered by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office (GDO).
ABOUT U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY’S GRID DEPLOYMENT OFFICE
The mission of the Grid Deployment Office (GDO) is to catalyze the development of new and upgraded electric infrastructure across the country by maintaining and investing in critical generation facilities, developing and upgrading high-capacity electric transmission lines nationwide, and deploying transmission and distribution technologies. Learn more at energy.gov/gdo.
ABOUT ELEVATE RENEWABLES
Elevate Renewables is a utility-scale battery storage company focused on strategically deploying battery infrastructure co-located with existing power infrastructure facilities. The company has significant experience and resources to effectuate utility-scale battery infrastructure with an extensive brownfield pipeline of over 4 GWs. Elevate Renewables is active throughout the U.S., where electrification and the rapid growth of intermittent renewables have created a need and advantage for renewable utility-scale battery storage. For more information, please visit www.elevaterenewableenergy.com.
Company Contact:
Elevate Renewables
Market & Media Communications
200 Clarendon Street, FL 55, Boston, MA 02116
Email: jjanson@elevaterenewableenergy.com
Phone: (585) 232-5440
