Batteries which regulate network frequency and make it easier to feed in intermittent energy

EDF Renewables have developed an innovative storage system, which combines an energy storage battery and a computerised control programme. The facility, located in McHenry County USA, consists of eleven 1.8MW storage containers, each equipped with lithium-ion batteries. The energy management software was developed by EDF Store & Forecast, a company which has already set a dozen new industrial standards in France and abroad.

Combining large-scale storage and a smart management system provides a dynamic reserve of power, which aims to offer greater flexibility to the local network operator. The McHenry installation is especially useful in smoothing out the fluctuations in energy generation from intermittent wind farms or solar PV.

A year after the commissioning of the Toucan solar farm (5MWpk) in French Guyana, with its energy storage facility, the McHenry project is EDF Renwables’ second major achievement in the field of storage.