Tehachapi Wind Energy Storage Project: Description of operational uses, system components, and testing plans

Abstract

The Tehachapi Wind Energy Storage Project (TSP) is a research project with the objective of demonstrating the effectiveness of lithium-ion battery technology to improve grid performance and wind integration. Deployment of the demonstration will be at Southern California Edison's Monolith substation located 100 miles north of Los Angeles using the Antelope-Bailey 66kV system, part of the Tehachapi Wind Resource Area. The TSP Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) consists of an 8 MW - 4 hour (32 MWh) lithium-ion battery and smart inverter system that is cutting-edge in scale and application. The BESS will be tested for a period of 24 months pursuant to 13 specific operational uses that include delivering ramp rate, voltage support/grid stabilization, frequency regulation, spin/non-spin replacement reserves, and charging/discharging to better integrate renewable energy. This paper presents a description of the 13 operational uses, the technical details of the BESS components, and the test plan to support the use cases.