February 19, 2014 | By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

A strategic partnership between Hawaii Electric Light Company, the County of Hawaii and the state of Hawaii is intended to share resources and attract companies interested in testing and evaluating pre-commercial energy storage units at the Hawaii Ocean Science and Technology (HOST) Park in Kailua-Kona, managed by the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority (NELHA).

Energy storage is a rapidly evolving market and offers significant potential for future growth, as microgrids require higher degrees of reliability and power quality -- sophisticated generation-load balancing.

"With the significant cost reduction in clean energy generation over the years, some consider lower cost energy storage to be the 'missing link' and one of the most challenging elements in the design and function of a clean energy microgrid," said NELHA Executive Director Gregory Barbour.

The worldwide market for energy storage systems for wind and solar will grow from less than $150 million annually in 2013 to $10.3 billion by 2023, and an installed capacity of projected to total 21.8 GW, according to some reports.

"The good news is that we have already developed the necessary infrastructure to allow for the 'real-world' grid connected standardized testing and validation of energy storage devices at HOST Park," Barbour said. "NELHA plans to offer low-cost outdoor and indoor sites for testing, up to 30kW of power, power sensors, and real-time monitoring data of energy storage devices at no additional cost. Efforts like these are providing a backbone that NELHA can build out further in the coming years and greatly assist in making the critical seawater system more cost efficient for businesses at HOST Park."

The utility sees energy storage and the new partnership as a key to achieving its mission of providing secure, clean energy for Hawaii.

"There are great opportunities in energy storage to increase clean energy, support reliability and ultimately lower costs for customers," said Hawai'i Electric Light President Jay Ignacio. "This partnership will help our efforts to identify economic and reliable energy storage options that support our mission."

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