Canadian Solar has finalized a deal to provide 4MW of energy storage for the electrical grid in Ontario, Canada, reports Bloomberg.
Canadian Solar was among several companies selected by Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) to supply storage to the grid, followed by a competitive application process.
The initiative was part of a long-term energy plan (LTEP) for Ontario that will allow the province to increase its energy share generated by renewable energy and investigate options to add more flexibility to energy supply and demand.
Ontario has a target to achieve 50MW of energy storage by 2014, of which 35MW has been attributed to the IESO to procure. So far IESO has procured 33.54MW, with the Ontario Power Authority responsible for sourcing the remaining 15MW.
Canadian Solar will supply a lithium battery-based system of 4MW and 2.76MW of stationary, grid-connected energy storage.
Ancillary services tackle short-term imbalances in energy infrastructure, including frequency response and mitigating the variability of renewable power sources.
The LTEP was announced at the end of 2013 and was later selected in July but the process took such a longer time.
This marks a new milestone for Canadian Solar as company makes further progress on the move forward from being a module manufacturer to becoming a total energy solution provider, said, Shawn Qu, chief executive officer, chairman, Canadian Solar.
Company is now established as one of the industry’s fastest growing companies, with one of the largest project pipelines, while expanding its business model by adding bulk energy on-grid battery storage to the portfolio, added Qu.
The company’s addition of bulk energy on-grid battery storage was further indication of the company’s move towards becoming a total energy solution provider, he said.
Sabeena Wahid
editor@greentechlead.com