Greensmith, AEP Launch Virginia Hydro-Plus-Storage Hybrid Project for Ancillary Services

HERNDON, Va.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Greensmith Energy (a Wärtsilä Company) and American Electric Power (AEP)
have agreed to install a 4 MW energy storage system integrated with the
Buck and Byllesby hydroelectric power plants in southwest Virginia. The
integration of advanced energy storage and software with hydroelectric
generation is seen to be a world’s first hybridized system of its kind
to provide ancillary services.

The system, due to begin operating in the first quarter of 2018, will
deliver PJM one of the first new energy storage systems since the
adoption of new frequency regulation signals and requirements for
regulation service. Harnessing Greensmith’s GEMS software platform that
offers multiple storage applications, the project will serve both of
PJM’s frequency regulation markets, including traditional regulation
known as RegA and dynamic regulation known as RegD.

“The advent and growth of hybridized power, enabled by the integration
of intelligent energy storage, has always been a key part of our
technology vision,” said Greensmith CEO John Jung. “Although we’ve
delivered six grid-scale energy storage systems to the PJM market, this
innovative hybrid project will see AEP raise the standard for
hydroelectric use-cases globally. And the potential for hybridization is
massive as hydroelectricity represents over 1,000 gigawatts of
generation globally, roughly a sixth of the world’s total.”

Expected to operate for 20 years, the programmable energy storage system
running on the GEMS software platform can optimize participation between
RegA and RegD signals based fluctuations in market values over time. Now
as a Wärtsilä Company, Greensmith continues to invest in advancing
energy storage, integration and software technology – all towards the
future hybridization of the electricity grid.

Buck and Byllesby are operated by Appalachian Power, a utility
subsidiary of AEP. The hydroelectric plants have been in operation since
1912 and are located on New River.

About Greensmith Energy, a Wärtsilä Company:

As the leading provider of energy storage software and integration
services, Greensmith’s mission is to make energy storage a fundamental
part of a more resilient, intelligent and distributed energy
infrastructure. Now in its fifth generation, Greensmith’s GEMS software
platform optimizes the performance of energy storage and integrated grid
assets by lowering costs and maximizing system return on investment.
Greensmith is part of Wärtsilä Energy Solutions with 65 gigawatts of
power plants across 176 countries. Learn more at www.greensmithenergy.com
and www.wartsila.com

Contacts

Level One Consulting Group
Jared Daniel, 312-623-8267
[email protected]