Chinese wind energy company operates US sustainable battery system for storage

SAN FRANCISCO - A California-based energy storage company said Sunday that its new long-life sustainable battery system has been installed at the Beijing campus of Etechwin, a subsidiary of world leading Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Goldwind.

Primus Power, the leading long duration stationary energy storage firm based in California, said in a statement that battery energy storage paired with wind turbines unlocks the ability to mitigate rapid wind output changes due to varying wind speeds.

The battery system can also help ensure a stable power output, and controlled ramp-up and ramp-down of wind power generation, the company also said.

"Primus is excited to be working with Goldwind and Etechwin to help solve the challenges represented by renewable curtailment," said Jorg Heinemann, Primus Power's chief commercial officer.

He added that Goldwind and its customers will greatly benefit from the multi-hour performance and multi-decade life offered by Primus' EnergyPod2, a second generation long-duration, fade-free flow battery system with five hour discharge and 20-year life span that is necessary for grid applications.

EnergyPod2 delivers a total cost of ownership up to 50 percent less than leading conventional lithium-ion battery systems, the company says.

"Policy makers in China are considering a mandate that energy storage be incorporated with all new grid connected wind developments," says Guoju Zhang, Goldwind's chief of the department of advanced research.

"In anticipation of this mandate, we have installed, commissioned and are operating a Primus EnergyPod2 system at our facility," he said, adding that the company wants to prove the value of battery energy storage paired with its wind turbines.

A recent Bloomberg report estimated that owners of China's wind and solar assets forewent approximately $4.7 billion in potential revenue due to renewable curtailment on wind energy in 2017.

In June 2017, Qinghai province in western China recognized that energy storage can play a role in reducing curtailment and proposed new legislation that would mandate the use of energy storage systems with new wind turbine installations.

Etechwin is the microgrid subsidiary of Goldwind, a world leading provider of wind turbine technology and energy solutions, which is headquartered in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in Northeast China.