Valence Technology Supplying Batteries for Peak Shaving for Texas Smart Grid Project
08 April 2010
Li-ion manufacturer Valence Technology has been selected as the preferred residential/community battery technology provider for the “Smart Grid Community of the Future,” the first smart-grid solar-powered residential development in Texas, the Houston-area master planned community of Discovery at Spring Trails.
Valence Technology will supply energy systems for the individual smart grid residences containing electric vehicle charging stations and smart appliances. Valence Technology’s energy solutions will be used to support peak shaving, whereby smart appliances like dishwashers and washing machines are efficiently utilized during peak demand hours.
Homeowners can avoid higher peak power costs during evening hours when multiple appliances are typically running after Valence Technology dynamic energy systems kick-in to power the smart appliances.
As part of the regional demonstration project entitled “Technology Solutions for Wind Integration in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT),” the “Smart Grid Community of the Future” will serve as a test model for the development of future distributed energy-generation communities. The project includes improved technologies to monitor the ERCOT electric grid and expanded smart portal capability to support demand response in the new development, Discovery at Spring Trails. With $13.5 million in funding from the US Department of Energy, the $27.4 million project is scheduled to break ground this year.
The team for this Smart Grid project includes CCET, Valence Technology, Southwest Research Institute, Electric Power Group, EcoEdge, CenterPoint Energy, Oncor, American Electric Power, Sharyland Utilities, Land Tejas Developers, Montgomery County Municipal Utility District 119, Xtreme Power/Energy Xtreme, General Electric, GridPoint, Direct Energy, Drummond Group and Frontier Associates.
Better control of high energy units such as hot water electric heaters, electric clothes dryers, elctric dish washers, electric home heaters etc could lower peak demands without effecting comfort levels.
Some home electric heaters can passively store 10+ Kwh of energy for 24 to 48 hours. Properly used, such heaters can be recharged with heat energy during off-peak periods (ONLY) and can release the stored heat energy at any time or whenever required. The same principle can be used for AC units.
When most HVAC + electrified vehicles are re-charged during off-peak hours, power demands would be more stable and new power plants and increased capacity grid would not be required for 1 to 2 decades.
Posted by: HarveyD | 08 April 2010 at 08:28 AM