From California to China, from Saudi Arabia to South Australia, the rapid transition to low-cost renewable energy will be enabled by pairing it with long-duration (4 to 8 hours) storage to deliver firm power on demand, and when it is needed most.

Unlike other battery formats, VRB-ESS are utility-scale equipment well-suited to this task: manufacturing of large-format cell stacks (which determine system power rating) is easily scalable, and electrolyte (which determines the energy rating) can use large tank farms; both of these elements together result in a much more effective solution than trying to string millions of tiny cells of differing voltages together.

VRB-ESS® GW-Class systems are robust systems specially engineered to deliver 100 MW or 250 MW of power for 4 to 10 hours to meet the needs of large-scale solar and wind farms, and to replace utility peak power plants.

Utilities and grid operators from Australia to Arizona are struggling with integration of large amounts of solar power replacing fossil fuel in wholesale grid supply projects. Solar power is also being adopted at a rapid pace by commercial, industrial and residential users alike. This creates a “duck curve” problem, where utilities have to turn down other forms of generation during the peak solar hours – only to ramp up the power as solar output wanes and evening peak power usage spikes.

This can be addressed with our 4-8 hours of energy storage products, to balance electricity grids and shift valuable solar energy from day to night.

VRB-ESS® GW-Class benefits:
• Pair VRB-ESS® with solar and wind generation to create a power plant solution that delivers firm and reliable power throughout the day
• Lower lifecycle cost of energy LCOE than traditional forms of generation
• Shorter lead time to implement than a new peaker plant
• More than 100% of hours provide a variety of ancillary services (as opposed to peaker plants that are only operated about 5% of hours)