The first application of a megawatt-level battery energy storage system (BESS) has been unveiled by Electrify America for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. The installation at the Baker station in California builds on the company’s 150 existing USA-based BESS installations, 100 of which are located in the same state.
Electrify America’s megawatt-level energy storage system works in combination with a solar canopy to help manage energy costs and reduce stress on the local grid by acting as a buffer to supplement power to charging stations when local utilities limit the amount of power a station can draw from the grid. Unlike traditionally installed wire-electric infrastructure, the company’s solution is a non-wired alternative, enabling EV charging in more remote areas which may not yet have the supporting electrical network.
“The application of the megawatt-level energy storage is the latest example of how we are continuously innovating to tackle infrastructure challenges and meet charging needs today,” said Jigar Shah, head of energy services, Electrify America. “As we expand the use of such solutions to more of our charging stations and also to our medium-duty and heavy-duty electric fleet customers, we are positioned to enable continued transportation electrification even in the face of utility capacity constraints.”
Electrify America selected the Baker station for its first deployment of the megawatt-level energy storage system because of the remote location and its utility capacity constraints. By integrating the 1.5MW/3 MWh energy storage system with 66kW of generation potential from the solar canopy, Electrify America is able to add additional power to the station through its complex control technology.
“To put this into perspective, the energy storage system at Baker, when fully charged, could provide enough energy for an average household for over three months on the single charge,” added Shah.
Now benefitting from 12 chargers instead of the original eight, the latest chargers benefit from the company’s most up-to-date design and innovation changes. Depending on the charger, the systems can deliver up to 350kW (hyperfast) charging, enabling approximately 20 miles of EV driving range for each minute of charging.
Charging load at the Baker station site has already surpassed 1MW of peak charging demand. The entire megawatt-level load is served purely by Electrify America’s energy storage system and solar canopy.