March 11, 2018 | News Brief | With a commitment to deliver cleaner, more reliable power where and when it’s needed most, GE launched the GE Reservoir – a comprehensive energy storage platform that delivers a suite of customized storage solutions to help customers address new challenges and seek new opportunities in a rapidly transforming power grid that is becoming more highly diversified and distributed.
The Reservoir, which already has a 20 MW, 80 MWh pre-launch commitment, expands GE’s 10-year footprint in the energy storage space and builds upon recent successes and milestones. Last year, GE introduced the world’s first hybrid-electric gas turbine to multiple accolades across the industry. GE was the first-to-market with advanced applications for hybrid electric-gas turbines, wind hybrids and “Black Start” capabilities. And just last month, GE announced a new project with the Arenko Group to build one of the world’s largest energy storage systems in the UK.
“The energy landscape is undergoing an unprecedented paradigm shift, as the growth of renewables, decentralization of power and digitization create both new challenges and opportunities in how power is generated, transmitted and distributed,” said Russell Stokes, president and CEO of GE Power. “GE’s Reservoir delivers the new type of energy system that customers are looking for to help manage electricity’s next chapter.”
Eric Gebhardt, Vice President and Strategic Technology Officer of GE Power, said, “GE’s Reservoir platform enables cost-effective distribution, storage, and utilization of cleaner, more reliable power where and when it is needed most. It can fit into most any setting, from centralized grid systems to the most remote villages and communities. The Reservoir also allows energy providers new degrees of flexibility for more intelligently managing and getting the most out of all their power assets.”
GE’s Reservoir platform, developed with innovative technology from GE’s Global Research Center, is a flexible, compact energy storage solution for AC or DC coupled systems. The Reservoir solution combines GE’s technologies in plant controls, power electronics, battery management systems, and electrical balance of plant.
The 1.2 MW, 4 MWh Reservoir Storage Unit, is the fundamental building block of GE’s Reservoir platform. It is a modular solution that integrates GE’s Battery Blade design (module stack design) with key technologies from across the company’s portfolio to achieve an industry-leading energy density, footprint and lifetime performance. GE’s proprietary Blade Protection Unit (BPU) actively balances the safety, life, and production of each battery Blade, extending battery life by up to 15 percent and reducing fault currents by up to 5X.
The modular system has multiple installation and cabling options including pad or pier and is designed to minimize operation and maintenance (O&M) expenses over the life of the project with an all-weather design and high-efficiency cooling system. It is factory built and test to reduce project installation time and costs.
