Hawaii to test battery to boost renewable energy on Oahu power grid
Hawaiian Electric Co. (HECO) has installed a 1 MW battery onto Oahu’s electric grid at Campbell Industrial Park, in the state's latest move toward being powered by 100% renewable energy. During a two-year trial, the utility-scale energy storage system will be tested for efficiency and safety, while "control algorithms" capable of being used in bigger batteries for "power smoothing, voltage regulation and frequency response" will also be examined.

Hawaiian Electric Co. said today it has added its largest battery to Oahu’s electric grid as the utility looks to make space for more renewables.

HECO put into service its first utility-scale energy storage system for a 2-year demonstration. The one-megawatt battery from Wyoming-based Altairnano is housed in a large shipping container at Campbell Industrial Park.

The purpose of the demonstration is to test the energy storage system’s safety and capability to help connect more renewable energy to the grid.

Shelee Kimura, vice president for corporate planning and business development at HECO, said in a statement the installation will help get the state closer to its goal to have 100 percent of its energy coming from renewable energy resources.

“To achieve our 100 percent renewable energy goal, we need to be able to smooth power flowing to the grid from variable renewable generation like wind and solar as well as shift electricity generated when the sun is shining to when people use the most electricity in the evening,” she said.

HECO said the battery can go from zero to full power output in a fraction of a second providing up to 250 kilowatts of power for one hour or one megawatt for 15 minutes. During the demonstration, HECO is testing control algorithms that may be used in even larger batteries for power smoothing, voltage regulation and frequency response.

“It is not just if it works but how it works, and how you balance performance with durability,” HECO spokesman Peter Rosegg said.

HECO is working with the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute on a similar project in operation on Hawaii island for wind smoothing and frequency regulation. Another has been installed at Maui Electric Co.’s Palaau Power Plant on Molokai and is being tested to provide energy and stability to that island’s grid should a generator go offline.

“We are working on these capabilities both with larger, utility-scale systems … and with ‘behind-the-meter’ batteries at business and residential customer sites, all working in unison to make clean power work,” Kimura said.