Sumitomo opens first independent large-scale energy storage system

Sumitomo Corporation together with Sumitomo Corporation of Americas announced today they are to start operating their innovative battery power storage system, Willey Battery Utility, LLC, that they have been constructing in Hamilton County, Ohio since April.

This facility will provide a reliable and stable supply-demand balancing service for the frequency regulation market operated by PJM*, the largest independent service operator of wholesale electricity in the U.S.

“As a developer of wind and solar power plants which are unavoidably intermittent generation sources, we think it is quite important that we also contribute to the stabilization of power grids through balancing services. Understanding that energy storage service is indispensable for further penetration of renewable energy, we will keep trying to expand our footprint in the energy-storage space, not only in frequency-regulation but also in other types of storage services,” said Nick Hagiwara, Director, Power and Infrastructure Group, Sumitomo Corporation of Americas.

*PJM currently operates power grids in 13 states in the northeastern United States with a total electric power generation capacity of approximately 185,600MW, which is comparable to the total capacity of 230,000MW for all of Japan (excluding nuclear power generation capacity).