May 24 2013
ZBB Energy Corporation, the leading developer of intelligent, renewable energy power platforms and hybrid vehicle control systems, today announced the successful commissioning of a 'first ever' ZBB EnerSection™ with lead acid batteries in a utility-owned demonstration facility with onsite solar PV and wind turbine generation.
The system includes the ZBB EnerSection 125kW bi-directional inverter and ZBB EnerSection DC inputs for regulating power flows to and from four lead acid battery sets. The installation will demonstrate the numerous economic, operational, strategic and environmental value streams accomplished by prioritizing and optimizing renewables in unison with peak grid usage in distributed locations.
"The battery bank will be used to offset peak loads on the Hoback B feeder by discharging into the feeder during peak periods. Charging will be done during off-peak hours. That cycling will reduce our system losses, reduce our peak demand charges, and improve efficiency on our system," explained Warren Jones, Distribution Engineer on the project for Lower Valley Electric Co-op (LVE). "We are working on integrating monitoring and control of the ZBB platform into LVE's SCADA system (System Control and Data Acquisition) that will allow us to optimize use of the battery bank with our transmission and distribution system as renewable energy output varies."
The sale and commissioning was completed in collaboration with Facility Gateway Corporation (FGC), which provides professional data center services and management solutions in all 50 US states. FGC provides additional services through its Data Center Real Estate Services Division, Data Center Design Division, Equipment and Installation Division, and Critical Facility Management Division.
The ZBB EnerSection provides a completely integrated energy management platform ready to interconnect for the requirements for distributed grid regulation by utility companies. "We decided to work with ZBB based upon their proven background with grid interactive power conditioning systems. Knowing that they have worked previously with a variety of storage technologies, including their ZBB EnerStore™ systems, greatly reduces our risk and time to market for a turn-key system," said Robert Walker, Project Lead for FGC.
"Distributed energy resource systems offer the best near-term set of value streams for the utility industry and end-users with onsite generation. The ZBB EnerSystem™ platform represents the future of this fast-growing trend, as the most streamlined and flexible design for this type of integration," said Eric Apfelbach, ZBB Energy President and CEO. "We believe this is the most efficient way to have seamless management of renewable energy, grid power and energy storage. This installation also demonstrates that the ZBB EnerSection can work with multiple types of storage and that no one storage type is the definitive product for all applications and markets."