Axion Power International, Inc., a developer of lead-carbon PbC batteries and energy storage systems, believes its PowerCube battery energy storage system will qualify as a potential provider in California’s new proposed state mandate calling for the creation of 1.3 gigawatts of energy storage to support the state’s power grid by 2020 (and beginning in 2014). Axion has initiated discussions and will be entertaining proposals from potential strategic partners to assist them in joining the California energy storage initiative.
On September 3, 2013, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) called for the establishment of a new regulatory regime that enables utilities, third-party storage providers like Axion and others to integrate their assets and technologies to create and operate an energy storage system connected to the state’s power grid. The CPUC’s proposal is a response to a 2010 California law that mandated the creation of an energy storage system that integrates solar and wind energy into the state power grid while managing peak power needs.
Axion’s PowerCube, based on the company’s patented PbC battery technology, has proven its effectiveness and reliability through its participation in the PJM grid utility network. The PowerCube has provided daily frequency regulation and demand response services to PJM since the initial FERC ruling of November 2011 allowed its participation. PJM is the nation’s largest power transmission organization serving more than 58 million people in all or parts of 13 states in the East and Midwest and the District of Columbia. Viridity Energy, a service provider in PJM, is managing the signal link between Axion’s PowerCube and the PJM network on a daily basis. The PowerCube has achieved an average daily score above 94 (out of 100) on the complex PJM scoring methodology due in part to the asset’s 55 millisecond response time.
The PowerCube, utilizing Axion’s patented PbC batteries, is a mobile energy storage system that has been designed to capture and store the intermittent power generated by renewable energy producers like solar and wind, and to recover rapidly after a discharge event, especially in partial state of charge applications. The batteries long cycle life and voltage self regulation, especially in large string applications, make it well suited for applications like the California initiative.
