SMITH ISLAND, MD - The US Department of Energy is poised to award federal funds to an electric cooperative to bring a new battery project to Smith Island, aimed to improve grid resilience and bring long-duration energy to Chesapeake Bay communities.
According to Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC), the battery project was one of 15 selected by the Department of Energy to boost renewable energy deployment across the US. Though the project is planned for installation on Smith Island, ODEC says the energy produced by the battery will also benefit nearby Tangier Island in Accomack County, VA.
The Smith Island project is hoped to see a battery installation that discharges 700kW of electricity for up to 18 hours. The long-duration energy storage is set to benefit five electric cooperative-served communities, ODEC says.
“ODEC is honored to be selected by DOE and excited about the possibilities of pioneering energy innovation and grid resilience simultaneously,” said Chris Cosby, senior vice president of power supply at ODEC. “The Smith Island battery project will enable ODEC to provide more reliable, clean power during hurricane season, winter storms and other outages to our most remote members at the end of the line.”
ODEC says the final federal funding for the project will be negotiated this fall as part of $325 million available from DOE Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations.