A Buffalo New York apartment building has installed a battery system that stores excess energy when it is plentiful and can power the building when the grid is strained and electricity is costly. The Peace Bridge Place affordable housing complex has added a 3.75-megawatt lithium-ion battery system that can power the complex for several days.
The system was built by developer Good Carbon Company using battery technology by Buffalo-based Viridi. The Peace Bridge site was chosen because it is an all-electric building that uses a geothermal system for heating and cooling rather than natural gas. NYSERDA helped to fund the project, which is located at the affordable housing complex whose residents earn no more than 80% of the area’s median income.
When electricity demand is high, Peace Bridge will use the battery system. It will get paid by the utility for not drawing from the grid and can even send power back if needed. This helps lower the complex’s overall electricity costs, benefiting residents.
Residential battery systems are uncommon because of the costs and concerns about fire risks associated with batteries. A number of large battery fires have garnered attention and have driven opposition to further development. The battery producer Viridi spent six years and $10 million developing fireproof containers for batteries. The system developed by Viridi has met stringent Underwriters Laboratories safety standards meaning that it can be installed indoors without adding additional fire suppression to a building. Viridi is at present the only company to consistently pass this supposedly nearly impossible test.
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References:
Can larger batteries safely power residential buildings? A project in New York aims to show how
