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Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--In the Electric Power Industry, lithium-ion battery energy storage systems (BESS) are hot. Really hot. So hot they could catch fire and explode, and not just metaphorically. Five months after a fire and explosion rocked a BESS in Arizona, a growing number of industry professionals are asking safety-related questions about BESS.
In a recent article in California Water & Power magazine (CW&P), utility executives in California expressed some concerns over lithium-ion BESS safety issues.
As companies tinker with battery chemistry to improve density and performance, there is increased concern over safety. Several executives interviewed by CW&P noted the buildup of highly flammable hydrogen gas in lithium ion batteries is a particular concern. Hydrogen-fueled fires burn so hot that some fire departments have orders to let the fire burn out rather than try to extinguish it.
"Safety is critical," said Reiko Kerr, senior assistant general manager of power systems at the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP) (Los Angeles, California), regarding battery energy storage. "There is a back-feed potential during outages when storage is paired with other distributed energy resources. Battery storage manufacturers continue to tweak the software, but our employees' safety is critical."
That concern does not appear to have stunted interest in BESS, at least not yet. Industrial Info is tracking about 88 North American BESS projects valued at roughly $9.5 billion that are under development.
Where that growth trajectory goes may well depend on the results of an investigation under way in Arizona into a lithium-ion BESS fire and explosion that took place in April. That fire and explosion sent four hazmat technicians from the Peoria, Arizona, Fire Department to the hospital with chemical burns. The utility that owns that BESS is Arizona Public Service Company (APS) (Phoenix, Arizona), a unit of Pinnacle West Capital Corporation (NYSE:PNW) (Phoenix, Arizona).
Until that April incident northwest of Phoenix, APS had plans to deploy as much as 850 megawatts (MW) of battery storage capacity to its solar power plants by 2025. In the immediate aftermath of that incident, APS said its deployment plans were unchanged. However, in an about-face last month, APS said it would slow its deployment of some BESS until the investigation of that April fire is complete.
APS' decision took place a few days after Sandra D. Kennedy, a commissioner on the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) (Phoenix, Arizona), the state panel that regulates utilities, wrote in a letter that in light of the two energy storage fires that have occurred in Arizona (2012 and 2019), lithium ion batteries -- specifically those that will release hydrogen fluoride -- "are not prudent and create unacceptable risks."
Many in the power industry have placed their faith -- and their dollars -- in lithium-ion BESS, which is one of several types of battery technology being investigated and tested. So far, lithium-ion BESS are the only type of batteries that have demonstrated an ability to operate at commercial scale. Some BESS projects under development in North America are stand-alone projects, capable of being recharged from any type of generator, while others are built into solar or wind projects, to boost the percentage of electricity a utility gets from renewable resources.
As the cost of BESS continues falling -- down about 80% since 2012, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance -- their cost effectiveness continues to grow, leading to greater receptiveness by utilities. Last month, California regulators considered setting aside $100 million in state energy storage incentives to customers who live in areas with the highest risk of wildfires. For more on the potential of BESS technology, see June 28, 2019, article - Battery-Based Energy Storage Systems Expand U.S. Project Footprint to $8 Billion and October 12, 2018, article - Battery Storage Power Projects Becoming Big Business in the U.S.
Across North America, the largest BESS projects under development include:
In a recent article in California Water & Power magazine (CW&P), utility executives in California expressed some concerns over lithium-ion BESS safety issues.
As companies tinker with battery chemistry to improve density and performance, there is increased concern over safety. Several executives interviewed by CW&P noted the buildup of highly flammable hydrogen gas in lithium ion batteries is a particular concern. Hydrogen-fueled fires burn so hot that some fire departments have orders to let the fire burn out rather than try to extinguish it.
"Safety is critical," said Reiko Kerr, senior assistant general manager of power systems at the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP) (Los Angeles, California), regarding battery energy storage. "There is a back-feed potential during outages when storage is paired with other distributed energy resources. Battery storage manufacturers continue to tweak the software, but our employees' safety is critical."
That concern does not appear to have stunted interest in BESS, at least not yet. Industrial Info is tracking about 88 North American BESS projects valued at roughly $9.5 billion that are under development.
Where that growth trajectory goes may well depend on the results of an investigation under way in Arizona into a lithium-ion BESS fire and explosion that took place in April. That fire and explosion sent four hazmat technicians from the Peoria, Arizona, Fire Department to the hospital with chemical burns. The utility that owns that BESS is Arizona Public Service Company (APS) (Phoenix, Arizona), a unit of Pinnacle West Capital Corporation (NYSE:PNW) (Phoenix, Arizona).
Until that April incident northwest of Phoenix, APS had plans to deploy as much as 850 megawatts (MW) of battery storage capacity to its solar power plants by 2025. In the immediate aftermath of that incident, APS said its deployment plans were unchanged. However, in an about-face last month, APS said it would slow its deployment of some BESS until the investigation of that April fire is complete.
APS' decision took place a few days after Sandra D. Kennedy, a commissioner on the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) (Phoenix, Arizona), the state panel that regulates utilities, wrote in a letter that in light of the two energy storage fires that have occurred in Arizona (2012 and 2019), lithium ion batteries -- specifically those that will release hydrogen fluoride -- "are not prudent and create unacceptable risks."
Many in the power industry have placed their faith -- and their dollars -- in lithium-ion BESS, which is one of several types of battery technology being investigated and tested. So far, lithium-ion BESS are the only type of batteries that have demonstrated an ability to operate at commercial scale. Some BESS projects under development in North America are stand-alone projects, capable of being recharged from any type of generator, while others are built into solar or wind projects, to boost the percentage of electricity a utility gets from renewable resources.
As the cost of BESS continues falling -- down about 80% since 2012, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance -- their cost effectiveness continues to grow, leading to greater receptiveness by utilities. Last month, California regulators considered setting aside $100 million in state energy storage incentives to customers who live in areas with the highest risk of wildfires. For more on the potential of BESS technology, see June 28, 2019, article - Battery-Based Energy Storage Systems Expand U.S. Project Footprint to $8 Billion and October 12, 2018, article - Battery Storage Power Projects Becoming Big Business in the U.S.
Across North America, the largest BESS projects under development include:
- Enid 800-MW Skeleton Creek BESS unit addition, a $900 million project slated to be built in Oklahoma by NextEra Energy Resources, a unit of NextEra Energy Incorporated (NYSE:NEE) (Juno Beach, Florida). The construction kickoff date is early 2022, and the unit is scheduled to begin operating by the fourth quarter of 2024.
- Parrish Grassroot 409-MW Manatee Energy Storage Center, a $760-million project being developed by another NextEra Energy subsidiary, Florida Power & Light (Juno Beach, Florida). That project aims to begin construction in one year's time and be operating by yearend 2021.
- Klamath Falls grassroot 100-MW/800-MwH Swan Lake BESS, a project slated to be built in Oregon. Valued at $734 million, this project is expected to begin turning dirt in late-2024 and be in-service by mid-2025.
- Desert Center 500-MW Athos BESS Unit Addition, a $629 million project being developed by Intersect Power (San Francisco, California). Scheduled to be built in southern California, this planned project has a construction kickoff date of October 2020 and an in-service date of October 2022.
- Moss Landing 300-MW/1,200-MwH BESS addition, a $500 million planned project for the central California coast. The project owner, a unit of Vistra Energy Corporation (NYSE:VST) (Irving, Texas), plans to begin construction in early 2020 and have the unit operational by yearend 2020.
