US-based Georgia Power has more than 850 MW of active energy storage projects under development or in operation in its service area.
Form Energy, a Massachusetts-based grid-scale energy storage developer, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Georgia Power, a Southern Company, to install a 15 MW / 1.5 GWh iron-air battery on the power plant’s Georgia grid, providing 100 hours of operation. transmission long-term energy storage system (LDES).
The multi-day LDES project is part of Georgia Power’s integrated plan to deploy new cost-effective clean energy systems to improve grid reliability and resiliency. With the approval of the authorities, the battery project is predicted to enter commercial use in 2026.
“Our customers, including many enterprises and commercial accounts, are increasingly interested in using new technologies such as multi-day energy storage to increase renewable energy and improve reliability, especially as they relocate or expand operations in Georgia,” Kim said. Greene, president and CEO of Georgia Power. “Form Energy’s technology is state-of-the-art and we are excited to continue working with them to serve our customers.”
Form Energy and the utility are working together to evaluate and fully demonstrate that the 100-hour iron-air battery project will strengthen the local grid against normal daily, weekly and seasonal fluctuations in addition to extreme weather events, the developer said. This includes analysis modeled by Georgia Power and input from Formware, Form Energy’s investment and operational modeling software tool for electric grids.
“We are pleased to strengthen our relationship through this partnership with Georgia Power and look forward to delivering an innovative multi-day energy storage system that will ensure grid reliability and resiliency in their service area for years to come,” said Mateo Jaramillo, CEO. Official and founder of Form Energy.
Georgia Power supplies electricity to 2.7 million customers in all but four Georgia counties. In 2022, regulator Georgia Public Service Commission approved the utility’s long-term Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). The utility has already commissioned a major grid storage project, the 265 MW McGrau Ford battery facility, a lithium-ion battery project in Cherokee County, Ga., and 500 MW of additional storage.
In addition to the Form Energy project, the utility has a 65 MW project under development in Talbot County and a 13 MW project commissioning for the U.S. Army at Fort Stewart near Savannah, Ga.
Form Energy was founded in 2017 by energy storage veterans who shared a unified mission to reshape the global electricity system by creating a new class of affordable multi-day energy storage systems.
The company began construction of a battery plant in Weirton, West Virginia in May and plans to begin manufacturing iron-air battery systems for commercialization in 2024. West Virginia Governor Jim Justice announced that the state was able to arrange a unique financial incentive package worth up to $290 million in asset-based performance financing to support their decision to locate in Weirton.
The company has raised more than $820 million in growth equity funding to date, with the most recent $450 million Series E round closed in October 2022 from TPG Rise Fund, GIC and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Previous investors include Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Capricorn Investment Group, Energy Impact Partners, ArcelorMittal, MIT’s The Engine, Prelude Ventures and VamosVentures.
