STAFF REPORT
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___________________________________________________________________ DAT
E: May 24, 2022
T
O: Justin Hess, City Manager
F
ROM: Dawn Roth Lindell, General Manager, Burbank Water and Power BY: Mandip Kaur Samra, Assistant General Manager, Power Supply S
UBJECT: Approval of an Agreement with the American Public Power Association for the Demonstration of Energy and Efficiency Development Program Grant for Energy Storage in the Amount of $125,000
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RECOMMENDATION
Approve and authorize the General Manager of B urbank Water and P ower (BWP), as designee of the City Manager, to execute the agreement with the American Public Power Association (APPA) for the Demonstration of Energy and Efficiency Development (DEED) program grant, in the amount of $125,000.
BACKGROUND
In December 2021, BWP was awarded a DEED grant in the amount of $125,000 from APPA. This grant is for a 75 kilowatt (kW) and 600kW per hour iron-flow energy storage pilot project (iron-flow battery) . The DEED grant is available to APPA members that implement a pilot project , provide early commercialization of new technology , and demonstrate best practices, services, tools, and publications that strengthen public power utilities and improve customers’ lives.
Over the last few months, BWP staff has been working with APPA to negotiate the terms of the grant and BWP has been working with the energy storage contractor, ESS Inc., to
ensure compliance with the terms set forth by the APPA.
DISCUSSION
BWP is developing a pilot project to demonstrate an iron- flow battery on the M agnolia Power Project (MPP) eco-campus. An iron-flow battery is a long duration battery which enables energy delivery for up to 12 hours. Iron- flow batteries use materials that are abundant on earth, such as iron, salt, and water for the electrolyte. This technology allows energy to be stored for a longer period, compared to traditional energy storage technologies, like lithium ion. For comparison, on average, the lithium-ion battery systems offer four hours of energy delivery. BWP is in the process of negotiating the contract for
WATER AND
POWER
2 the iron-flow battery with ESS, Inc., and it is expected that the project will be installed by June 2023, depending on supply chain considerations.
Energy storage systems of all types assist with smoothing out the intermittency caused by renewable resources (namely solar and wind resources), allow energy to be shifted when needed to meet energy demand, defer upgrades to the transmission and distribution system and have no air emissions (when interconnected to a renewable resource). This pilot project will be interconnect ed with the existing 265 kW hour solar installation on the MPP eco-campus.
BWP plans to partner with ESS Inc. (ESS) on the battery installation. ESS is a maker of long duration, all-natural iron-flow batteries and provides commercially ready products to support the decarbonization of the electric grid. With batteries up to 12 hours in duration, ESS supports stand- alone projects for grid resiliency , ancillary services, and peak shifting. ESS supports microgrids to m aximize solar and wind consumption for customers. ESS’s long duration iron-flow battery will provide clean energy to customers in the evening to support greater electrification. All components of the battery are manufactured in Wilsonville, Oregon. ESS sources over 80% of its materials in the United States. ESS has had multiple deployments since initiating its battery technology in 2015, including several in California. ESS iron -flow batteries present no fire, chemical or explosive risk and the battery sys tem is recyclable at the end- of-life, which can exceed 25 years. ESS is the only vendor that has a successful track record on iron- flow battery systems.
As part of the DEED grant, BWP will have to develop a report, provide quarterly updates, and share findings of the pilot project.
FISCAL IMPACT
This is a revenue source and there is no impact to the budget. Funds are budgeted and will be encumbered in the fiscal year 2022-2023 budget.
CONCLUSION
The BWP Board reviewed this item at the May 5, 2022, Board meeting and unanimously approved the recommend ation for City Council to approve and authorize the General Manager of BWP, as designee of the City Manager , to execute the agreement with the APPA for the DEED program grant, in the amount of $125,000.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Demonstration of Energy & Efficiency Developments (DEED) Grant Agreement