November 2, 2017: NorthStar Battery officially connected its Blue+ thin plate lead battery to the grid at City Utilities of Springfield, Missouri, US, on November 2, holding a dedication ceremony to mark the connection.
“The BESS has been cycled several times (1MWh discharges) and the system is operating as intended,” chief operating officer Carlos Estrada told BESB, adding that the system had a life expectancy of between seven and 10 years.
The system has been installed to peak shifting, frequency regulation and UPS back up power for the utility’s customers in the southwest region of Springfield.
With NorthStar’s 1,140 batteries, housed in two containers, back-up is immediate, with 2.5 available at 100% depth of discharge and 1MW at 40% DOD.
The system will be monitored by NorthStar’s ACE remote management system, which took the Sally Breidegam Miksiewicz Innovation award at the BCI conference in May.
Senior management teams from NorthStar Battery and City Utilities joined officers from the local and state governments for the dedication ceremony.