Green Mountain Power wants to build Vermont's second commercial renewable energy storage battery near its solar array in Panton.The $3 million Tesla battery will store about 1 megawatt of power which will come off of the solar array nearby.
Green Mountain Power spokeswoman Kristin Carlson says the new battery in Panton will allow GMP to store renewable energy and then sell it back into the regional grid when energy demand peaks.
"For us this really is the energy future," Carlson says. "Because we want to go toward a future that's home-business-and-community based, and battery storage is a really important component of that."
GMP built the region's first commercial storage battery last year, near its Stafford Hill Solar project.
Carlson says the batteries also allow GMP to access stored energy if the grid goes down.
And Carlson says that while GMP does not currently have other battery projects under state regulatory review, the company does expect to introduce additional projects to help Vermont move towards a more distributed grid that uses local, sustainable energy sources.
"One way to drive down is by storing the power and then selling the power when demand is high," Carlson says. "Every customer benefits when we do that, and driving down the costs is one way of maintaining the bulk grid system."
GMP has applied for its state permit and is holding a public meeting on the Panton project on Monday, Oct. 23 at Vergennes Union High School.
