The technology group Wärtsilä has completed two major interconnected energy storage systems in south Texas totaling 200 MW and owned by Eolian L.P., a portfolio company of Global Infrastructure Partners.
The Madero and Ignacio energy storage plants will be operated using Eolian software, enabling full participation in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) market. This will add year-round reliable operational ramping capacity to the system.
Construction of the projects began in January 2021 to meet the flexibility and reliability needs of the ERCOT market. The facility reacts instantaneously to sustain electricity output and keep the lights on when power generation fails or cannot respond quickly enough to rapidly-changing conditions.
“Adding new flexible resources today thereby preserves this older generation for more limited use in rare reliability events until they eventually retire and ensures an orderly transition during the natural replacement cycle of aging infrastructure,” says Aaron Zubaty, CEO, Eolian.
Wärtsilä’s GEMS digital energy platform monitors and controls the flow of energy, enabling these projects to provide grid support during periods of grid instability. With Wärtsilä’s Storage+ Solution, the projects will deliver ancillary services required for grid stability, such as fast frequency response and frequency regulation.
The project includes Wärtsilä’s GridSolv Quantum, a fully-integrated modular and compact energy storage system that offers low life cycle costs, fast deployment times, quality control and flexibility. GridSolv Quantum is a certified UL 9540 compliant design fitted with several safety features.
