Viewing posts tagged "Active Power"

Beacon Power Lands $2M Flywheel Deal With New York

Beacon Power Corp. (NSDQ: BCON) has landed a $2 million contract with the New York State Research and Development Authority to deliver a 1-megawatt flywheel energy storage system to help regulate the frequency of the state's power grid, with the hope of 20 megawatts of storage to come.

The project calls for Beacon to provide a 1-megawatt flywheel energy storage system for utility NYSEG, but the company hopes to see the project eventually expand to 20 megawatts of storage for utility National Grid,

Beacon's flywheels are used for frequency regulation, which is the task of keeping grid power at a constant 60 hertz, or cycles per second, to ensure its stability. That takes up as much as 1 percent of all the power produced in North America, which mostly comes from fossil fuel-fired power plants.

Beacon has similar frequency regulation deals with grid operator ISO New England and utility American Electric Power (see Green Light post). The Tyngsboro, Mass.-based company is hoping to see those projects scaled up from their current size as well, although ISO New England in November scaled back its plans from 5 megawatts to 3 megawatts (see Beacon Power Seeks to Raise $4.1M).

Other flywheel developers include Active Power Inc. and Pentadyne Power Corp., which are targeting the broader energy storage market. Beacon has said it also intends to target that market eventually.