Construction of a battery storage system for Danville Utilities is underway at 864 Monument St. that will reduce the city’s energy demand during peak usage times and lower power costs for the city.
The battery storage system has a rated capacity of 10.5 megawatts and 24.6 megawatt hours, meaning it can provide approximately 10.5 megawatts of power for almost 2.5 hours during the peak events that determine the city’s costs for transmission service and power capacity. Using the stored energy during these times will reduce the city’s electricity demand during these peak hours, and help prevent increases in the future cost of electricity.
“The savings from this project are much greater than paying the transmission costs,” Jason Grey, director of Danville Utilities, said.
The battery project is being installed, operated, and maintained by Delorean Power. Delorean Power is an Arlington, Virginia-based company that is developing battery energy storage projects across the mid-Atlantic, Northeast, and Midwest.
“Delorean was founded in 2019 and this will be our first operational project, so it is a huge priority for our company,” Michael Herbert, the co-founder of the company, said. “This will also be one of the first battery storage projects of its size in Virginia, and we are very excited about how it will help shape the future of energy storage in the Commonwealth as well as the benefits that it will provide to the City of Danville.”
The project was approved by the City Council in January 2021, but there have been delays in the project’s completion due to the pandemic. The project is expected to be complete and operational in May.