Green Bay approves its first utility-scale battery energy storage system
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Green Bay in Wisconsin, US, has approved plans to develop the city’s first standalone utility-scale battery energy storage system (BESS).
In a meeting Monday, the City of Green Bay Plan Commission authorised a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to allow Tern Energy Storage LLC to establish a BESS on 8.1 acres of land.
The proposed 200MW, 800MWh BESS will consist of approximately 450 battery enclosures (10’ X 30’ in size), approximately 112 transformers, and a collection substation. The BESS will support grid reliability by charging its lithium-ion batteries with energy from the electric transmission grid, storing that energy on-site, and delivering it back to the grid when needed.
The project will be designed and operated in accordance with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 855 Standard on the Installation of Energy Storage Systems, considered the gold standard for battery energy storage fire safety. It may also include an onsite operation and maintenance (O&M) facility, according to documents filed with the City of Green Bay.
The project will be owned and operated by Tern Energy Storage, a wholly owned subsidiary of infrastructure investment firm Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), and will be developed by Tenaska, Inc.
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CIP currently has about $20 billion of assets under management and is involved in the development of 550MW of BESS projects in Wisconsin, including the proposed Tern Energy Storage project. Tenaska, a private company based in Omaha, Nebraska, has been responsible for developing, managing, and operating more than 22,000 MWs of generation over its 35 years. It has been a partner with CIP in all of CIP’s Wisconsin BESS projects.
A Tenaska representative told the Green Bay Plan Commission that Tern Energy Storage represents a $300 million investment in the city.
The project is expected to produce about 75 construction jobs once work begins in the fourth quarter of 2025. Tenaska expects operations to start in 2026 or 2027.
What else is in store?
More battery energy storage should be popping up across Wisconsin soon.
Presuming it overcomes increased costs and delays in construction, the Koshkonong Solar Energy Center will include a 300MW solar facility and a 165MW BESS in Dane County. We Energies, Wisconsin Public Service, and Madison Gas and Electric recently agreed to purchase the project from Chicago-based developer Invenergy. Considering supply chain disruptions, interest rates, and federal regulations combating unfair trade practices and forced labor, the once $649 million project is now expected to cost more than $900 million to build.
We Energies also recently filed plans with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin to build a bevy of new clean generation that would add more than 500MW of solar power and 180 MW of wind power to the grid, including 100MW of new battery storage.
Last September, Black Mountain Energy Storage received approval from the City of Milwaukee to construct a 300MW/1,200 MWh battery storage project, slated to be Wisconsin’s largest known standalone battery project.
Originally published by Paul Gerke on renewableenergyworld.com
