When a national electric company wanted to install battery storage in North Reading, Massachusetts, to offset peak electricity demand, Pike Renewables handled everything from site work and installation of the client-supplied battery energy storage system (BESS) to the medium-voltage (MV) interconnection within the utility substation.

The scope of the 5 MW / 10 MWh installation covered procurement of balance-of-plant material, installation, commissioning and interconnection. Pike installed 1,000 batteries, MV metering, and two transformers and inverters.

As wind and solar generation grows, variable output becomes harder to forecast, creating challenges with grid stability, congestion and price volatility. Battery storage collects extra energy generated during off-peak hours and supplies it to the grid when demand is high. This system lets the utility meet consumer demand without “peaker plants” that burn fossil fuels to supply extra energy at peak times, and it stabilizes the grid by responding instantly to fast frequency changes that can cripple a utility grid. Systems like this can be co-located with wind, solar or microgrid systems, or stand alone with a direct grid connection.

Pike Renewables can engineer, provide varying levels of procurement for, and construct BESS projects all the way through the substation, distribution and transmission interconnections.