Saft provides batteries for 1.25 MW storage system at US Army facility

French battery system provider Saft Industrial Battery Group will supply US construction firm Tri-Technic Inc. with two of its Intensium Max 20M (IM20M) battery containers for a grid energy storage system Tri-Technic is installing at a US Army base in Monterey County, California. The batteries, each of which is rated at 500 kWh, will be installed at Fort Hunter Liggett and will form a 1.25 MW battery energy storage system (BESS). The batteries will store surplus electricity produced by the fort’s two existing PV systems as well as a third PV system to be built this year. The third PV array will have a capacity of 1 MW and will provide approximately one-third of the fort’s electricity. Siemens will supply smart inverters to support the microgrid controls. The BESS project is due to be completed this month.
The project is part of the US Department of Defense’s (DOD) plan to strengthen energy security and reduce energy costs for the US Army, Navy and Air Force. The DOD aims to get 25% of its energy from renewable energy sources by 2025.
In August last year, the DOD signed PPAs totaling up to $7 billion with 22 private sector companies for the supply of electricity from renewable sources to US Army facilities. The PPAs cover projects located on both private and DOD-administered land across the US. All systems will be designed, financed, constructed, operated and maintained by the companies awarded the PPAs. When it first announced the RfP for the PPAs in August 2012, the US Army Corps of Engineers said the PPAs would be awarded over the next decade and would last for up to 30 years.
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