Indiana Army Training Base Installs Microgrid

by | Oct 31, 2017

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Indiana National Guard’s Camp Atterbury will partner with Duke Energy to install battery storage equipment and solar panels that will operate as a microgrid, making it the first microgrid installed at a National Guard facility in Indiana.

Plans for the projects must be approved by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission before work can begin.

Benefits of the Microgrid

“The project at Camp Atterbury will help us gain valuable operating experience and may help determine how best to expand the new technology to other areas,” said Melody Birmingham-Byrd, Duke Energy Indiana state president.

At Camp Atterbury, the battery and solar panels will primarily provide grid benefits to customers in the region. In the unlikely event of a major grid failure, the microgrid could continue serving customer power demand. The storage battery has a capacity of 5 megawatts. The solar installation will generate approximately 2 megawatts.

At the Nabb, Ind., substation, a similar-size battery will be installed near the existing substation. This battery will also be used to provide grid benefits as well as back-up customer power in the event of an outage.

“Camp Atterbury, the Indiana National Guard and Duke Energy have worked together on several mutually beneficial projects over the years,” said Col. John Silva, Camp Atterbury’s commanding officer. “This proposed project will increase our strategic value and give us the ability to continue our mission-critical operations in the unlikely event of a large grid outage.”

Duke Energy will also install battery storage equipment at a substation in Nabb, Ind., in Clark County.

Toole Army Depot

In July, the Toole Army Depot in Tooele, Utah, announced it will install a 1MW/1MWh grid-tied battery storage system that will serve as a critical component of the facility’s self-sufficient microgrid, providing the depot with energy security and resiliency.

Go Electric Inc. was awarded the contract by Perini Management Services Inc., which will oversee the project. According to foresternetwork.com, PMSI will interconnect Go Electric’s new generation of battery energy storage system (BESS) to TEAD’s existing 46 kV line. Go Electric’s advanced BESS includes its 1MW lithium-ion battery and its patented AutoLYNC microgrid controller, enabling TEAD to manage and optimize multiple alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) distributed energy resources.

Vendors mentioned in this article:

  • Duke Energy
  • Indiana National Guard
  • Toole Army Depot
  • Go Electric, Inc.
  • Perini Management Services, Inc.

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