Beacon Power Corp. (NASDAQ: BCON) designs and develops advanced products and services to support more stable, reliable and efficient electricity grid operations. Today the company announced it has been awarded a subcontract to implement a flywheel energy storage system as part of a wind integration R&D project sponsored by the California Energy Commission.
Beacon will receive approximately $250,000 to offset R&D expenses, and will use an additional $90,000 of engineering resources for the Tehachapi project for an aggregate of $340,000 for R&D.
According to the press release, the foremost goal of the project is to show that advanced control technology, paired with energy storage, can drive the delivery of renewable wind energy by increasing the capacity of constrained transmission facilities. The project coincides with California’s goal to boost its electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure according to the state’s Energy Action Plan of 2003.
“The potential for large-scale wind-related energy storage applications is quite significant. Beacon is pleased to be part of an R&D project whose goals include showing how our flywheel energy storage can be applied and controlled to increase transmission capacity and maximize the value of wind generation resources in California.” Bill Capp, president and CEO of Beacon stated in the release. “The Tehachapi project is consistent with Beacon’s interest in exploring and commercializing additional grid applications that have high cyclic requirements, move a great deal of energy through our flywheel systems, address a large and growing global market, and facilitate the deployment of renewable energy.”
Beacon will work as a subcontractor on the project, along with prime contractor Alternative Energy Systems Consulting, to implement the energy storage portion of a system that uses flywheel technology to improve wind generation resources, coordinate energy production and deliver efficiencies. The company will also demonstrate that the system has the ability to deliver renewable energy and increase the use of transmission facilities in California.
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