Now that we can harvest clean, renewable energy from the wind and sun, the next frontier of the clean energy transition is figuring out how to effectively store that energy.
German multinational energy company RWE is committed to being part of that conversation, having just completed three new battery energy storage systems in the United States.
"Battery storage is growing even more critical to enable the rapid deployment of wind and solar projects, help stabilize the U.S. power grid, and better ensure that enough electric supply is available to meet demand," Andrew Flanagan, CEO of RWE Clean Energy, told CleanTechnica.
"As part of our Growing Green Strategy, we're planning to increase our battery portfolio globally to 6 gigawatts by 2030, and these three new systems are contributing to that goal," Flanagan continued.
RWE, the third-largest renewable energy company in Europe, has completed two battery storage projects in Texas (Bright Arrow, located in Sulphur Springs, and Big Star, located in Bastrop County) and one in Arizona (Mesquite 4, located in Maricopa County).
In total, those facilities can provide 190 MW (360 MWh) of energy storage. The company has another 770 MW (2,280 MWh) under construction.
It has also won a bid for a long-duration battery storage system in Australia, and it recently completed its largest storage facility in operation to date, in Fresno County, California.
As energy from the sun can only be harvested when the sun is shining, and energy from the wind can only be harvested when the wind is blowing, it is vital that we establish reliable long-term solutions for safely storing this energy so that it can be used at any time. While critics of clean energy have, in the past, called it unreliable for this reason, companies like RWE are showing that a future where our power comes from 100% renewable sources isn't just a pipe dream.
"More and more of these projects are needed to shut up the [doubters] that are always complaining about renewables 'intermittence,'" wrote one CleanTechnica commenter.
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