Dept of Energy to finance flywheel energy storage plant

[ProSense]

Green Light! Flywheel Energy Storage

by aaraujo

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has finalized a $43-million loan guarantee for Beacon Power Corporation’s 20 megawatt innovative flywheel energy storage plant in Stephentown, NY.

Beacon’s Gen 4 flywheel system is specifically designed to perform frequency regulation on utility grids by absorbing and discharging energy to balance power generation and consumption on the electric grid. The technology operates by using flywheels to quickly store and release from the grid in order to follow rapid changes in grid demand.

Flywheel-based regulation is fast and efficient, ramping up or down 10 times faster than ramp rates for conventional fossil fuel generators that typically perform this service.

Beacon estimates that a 20 megawatt flywheel-based frequency regulation plant will reduce carbon dioxide emissions up to 82% over its 20-year life compared to a coal, gas or pumped hydro plant. The flywheel plant also does not emit air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide or sulfur dioxide.

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2010/08/beacon-20100809.html

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A little over a year since the U.S. Department of Energy announced that it would give a $43 million low-interest loan guarantee to flywheel builder Beacon Power, it’s made good on the deal. The company will use the money to bring its 20-megawatt flywheel plant online by 2011.

http://www.nytimes.com/external/venturebeat/2010/08/10/10venturebeat-doe-charges-up-flywheels-finalizes-43m-loan-54486.html

Beacon Power designs and develops advanced products and services to support stable, reliable and efficient electricity grid operation.

What is flywheel energy storage?

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Check out the video at the link.