FlexGen Power Systems, Inc. ("FlexGen", or the "Company"), a leading energy storage solution and software technology provider, and North Carolina's Electric Cooperatives celebrated the completion of the battery energy storage project located at Randolph Electric Membership Corporation's (Randolph EMC) Five Points substation. The project is one of 10 energy storage sites across the state built as part of a program of 40MW of energy storage projects by North Carolina's Electric Cooperatives, which provide electricity and energy services to 2.5 million North Carolinians. The batteries are sited at electric cooperative substations in rural areas, streamlining interconnection to the grid, and adding local energy resources in communities for enhanced grid resilience and reliability to cooperative consumer-members.
Collectively, the 10 battery projects will provide 40 MW of electricity and will be discharged when demand for electricity is high. This not only enhances electric reliability but is expected to provide cost savings over the lifetime of the batteries. Because cooperatives are not-for-profit, at-cost energy providers, co-op members will benefit from those savings.
"North Carolina's Electric Cooperatives have shown their leadership in delivering reliability and flexibility for their members. Energy storage is the key to a more intelligent and reliable grid for rural consumers and businesses across the state," said FlexGen CEO Kelcy Pegler. "The FlexGen team is thrilled to be delivering our best-in-class technology that will provide more resilience and flexibility to our home state grid and consumers."
"Randolph EMC's Five Points project is the first of its kind, integrating a stand-alone battery energy storage system into North Carolina's cooperative electric grid," said Joe Brannan, executive vice president and CEO at North Carolina's Electric Cooperatives. "The battery will not only support Randolph EMC's efforts to supply affordable energy to its members, but it is also capable of enhancing the reliability and resiliency of the cooperative electric grid."
In addition to Randolph EMC, the other battery sites included in the statewide deployment and expected to be operational this year are located at or near:
Bolivia, N.C. with Brunswick Electric
Maysville, N.C. with Carteret-Craven Electric Cooperative
Lillington, N.C. with Central Electric
Rocky Point, N.C. with Four County EMC
Hubert, N.C. with Jones-Onslow EMC
Rockingham, N.C. with Pee Dee Electric
Fayetteville, N.C. with South River EMC
Goldsboro, N.C. with Tri-County EMC
Wake Forest, N.C. with Wake Electric
For years, electric cooperatives in North Carolina have worked together to lead in implementing innovative energy strategies, including community solar, microgrids, demand response programs and solar plus storage initiatives.
