The 300 kW solar array will offset more than half its electricity use, with the battery energy storage system providing resilience in case of power outage.
Ameresco completed a solar-plus-storage installation on the campus of Southwest Wisconsin Technical College. The $1.6 million project includes a 300 kW solar array, and a 125 kW / 220 kWh battery energy storage system (BESS) designed to offset approximately 60% of the electricity requirement.
Providing electricity to the college’s Student Services building, the solar installation is expected to reduce utility costs by approximately $30,000 per year and provide critical backup power to the building in the event of an outage.
The ground-mount solar array includes a Solectria inverter and 508 Jinko 585 W modules on fixed-tilt racking by Sinclair Designs & Engineering, a Michigan-based racking provider. The BESS is from Elm Microgrid, a clean energy solutions provider with manufacturing facilities in Texas and Oklahoma. The BESS includes KORE Power lithium-ion battery cells and is located within the fencing around the solar array. KORE Power is a U.S.-based battery cell manufacturer with a facility in Vermont.
The BESS has four levels of integrated safety features. A site controller monitors the batteries and ambient temperature, disabling the inverter if the battery modules exceed the maximum predefined operating temperature. A UL-tested battery management system monitors the status of the battery modules and cells including temperature, voltage, current, communications. Ameresco told pv magazine USA that, “should any parameters exceed allowable limits, the rack level contactors will be opened to disconnect the batteries and shut down the system.”
The solar-plus-storage system is the first of its kind on campus and the college expects to use it as a hands-on learning opportunity for students and apprentices interested in careers in renewable energy and sustainability.
Ameresco is a Massachusetts-based energy solutions provider that works with higher education and other organizations on reducing costs, enhancing resilience and decarbonizing.
