Ameresco to add 6-MW battery to US Army solar farm in Maryland

US energy efficiency and renewables company Ameresco Inc (NYSE:AMRC) has secured a contract from the US Army to add a 6-MW/6-MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) to an existing solar farm at the Fort Detrick Army Garrison in Frederick, Maryland.

The company will install the battery at the 18.6-MW direct current, 15-MW alternating current, solar facility in partnership with the Defense Logistics Agency Energy (DLA Energy). Ameresco was awarded a 26-year renewable energy supply agreement and site lease to deliver the solar farm in 2015 and completed it in 2016. The solar array now meets about 12% of Fort Detrick’s annual power needs.

The battery, which is expected to be completed in early 2023, will be operated as a demand response asset and will provide frequency regulation services to the PJM-Independent System Operator. It will also be microgrid-ready to provide for future resiliency functions.

The battery system is estimated to result in utility cost savings of USD 125,000 (EUR 119,000) a year.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.950)

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