Image courtesy 123rf
Arizona’s Salt River Project (SRP), a not-for-profit public power utility, and Google are collaborating to research the performance of emerging non-lithium ion long duration energy storage (LDES) technologies.
The ‘first-of-its-kind’ research collaboration, says SRP in a release, aims to accelerate the advancements needed to deploy LDES at scale.
As part of the research collaboration, Google will fund a portion of the costs for LDES pilot projects developed for SRP’s grid. Google will evaluate data on the pilot projects’ operational performance and provide input on the research and testing plans.
Commenting in a release was Chico Hunter, SRP Manager of innovation and development: “We believe that long duration energy storage will play an essential role in meeting SRP’s sustainability goals and ensuring grid reliability.
“This first of its kind research collaboration with Google will bring additional insight into the viability of these new technologies that could move them to maturity more quickly.”
Have you read:
Google inks demand response deal with Midwest US utility to support grid reliability
Energy and water use of Google’s AI is less than thought
SRP issued requests for proposals (RFPs) in 2022 and 2024 for LDES technology demonstration projects and will explore with Google the inclusion of multiple projects in the research collaboration.
This is not the first time Google and SRP have worked together.
Sonoran Solar Energy Center, a 260 MW solar facility with a 1GWh battery energy storage system, Storey Energy Center, an 88MW solar and battery energy storage system, and Babbitt Ranch Energy Center, a 161MW wind farm, all support the energy needs of Google’s future data centre in Mesa.
Google’s current projections indicate these projects will help its Arizona operations reach at least 80% CFE on an hourly basis by 2026.
Said Lucia Tian, head of advanced energy technologies at Google: “Long duration energy storage is a key technology in the portfolio of advanced energy solutions that we want to bring to market faster — to unlock stronger, cleaner, more resilient grids.
“Through our collaboration with SRP, we aim to accelerate the innovation and technological advancements necessary to deploy LDES solutions at scale so communities in Arizona and beyond can meet their power needs reliably and cost-effectively for years to come.”
SRP has nearly 1,300MW of energy storage currently supporting its grid, which includes 1,100MW of battery storage— spanning eight facilities— and 200MW of pumped hydro storage.
SRP aims to at least double the number of generating resources on its power system in the next 10 years in the Phoenix metropolitan area.
