skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: The Salem Smart Power Center: An Assessment of Battery Performance and Economic Potential

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1406263· OSTI ID:1406263

This paper presents an assessment of the economic potential of a 5 MW/1.25 MWh Energy Storage System (ESS) installed at the Salem Smart Power Center (SSPC), a smart grid technology demonstration facility owned and operated by Portland General Electric (PGE) in Salem, Oregon. The ESS and the grid conditions in which it operates were modeled using Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Battery Storage Evaluation Tool (BSET) to explore tradeoffs between services, and to develop optimal control strategies. This assessment monetized the value derived from nine services the SSPC could provide to PGE and the customers it serves. The ESS and the grid conditions in which it operates were modeled using PNNL’s in-house optimization tool BSET to explore tradeoffs between services, and to develop optimal control strategies. The analysis resulted in a number of lessons that provide crucial insights into the practical application of ESS, including; The SSPC, which was originally conceived as a research and test facility and built with the prevailing maturity technology level, was built at a cost ($20.4 million) that exceeds current day prices ($5.4 million) for a similarly designed and built 5 MW/1.25 MWh system; In terms of economic operation, the SSPC is currently underutilized, deployed only for primary frequency response. PNNL modeling indicates that optimal operation of the ESS could generate an additional value of $2.3 million over 20 years. It should also be noted that primary frequency response is the highest benefit application but requires a response from the SSPC only 17 hours each year. While optimally engaged, the ESS would provide arbitrage and ancillary services 78 percent of the time, but those services generate only 27 percent of the total value; Participation in Western EIM represents an interesting opportunity for PGE with a potential to generate $2.1 million value in PV terms over 20 years in the 5-min real-time market; With an energy to power ratio of only 0.25, the SSPC is not well suited to engage in most energy-intensive applications such as arbitrage or ancillary services. By upsizing the storage capacity to 5 MWh and 10MWh, the additional value allows the benefits ($13.3 million and 20.3 million, respectively) to exceed the system’s revenue requirements ($11.5 and $16.4 million, respectively). For the SSPC, ROI ratios exceeded 1.0 when the energy to power ratio fell between 0.5 and 3.5, and peaked at an energy to power ratio of 2.0. This report represents the output of the first of a two-phase effort. Phase II will involve the development of enhanced control strategies to assist PGE in realizing the benefits of energy storage in real-time.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
1406263
Report Number(s):
PNNL-26858
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English