Saint John Energy has signed a contract with Tesla to install a new kind of battery at one of the utility’s substations.
The utility-scale Tesla Megapack battery will store power while cutting both costs and greenhouse gas emissions.
The battery will be able to store 1.25 MW of energy during off-peak times and then discharge it during peak times when rates are much higher.
The battery will also be able to store renewable energy and use it to power the grid.
Renewable energy sources are often tricky to harness due to their weather-dependent nature. Saint John Energy says the battery will ensure energy is being captured and used efficiently.
The Megapack battery was announced by Tesla in July, so Saint John Energy will be one of the first utilities to put it to use.
The battery will be delivered in December, and hopefully up and running by May of next year.
The Tesla contract and battery purchase is part of a bigger federally-funded Smart Energy project for Saint John Energy, which aims to find and utilize renewable energy sources.
As part of the project, Saint John Energy is also currently considering proposals to build a wind energy project in the Spruce Lake Industrial Park.
The new battery and other smart energy resources will be integrated directly into the utility’s Integrated System Management platform, which provides real-time two-way monitoring and control of the electrical grid.
More information about the upcoming Smart Energy project can be found online.
