Beacon Power Corp. (Wilmington, MA), a development-stage manufacturer of flywheel energy-storage systems that provide uninterruptible electric power, announced that it has executed a contract with the California Energy Commission (CEC) to demonstrate an advanced energy storage solution for frequency regulation and grid stability.
The CEC had given its approval to the project in December 2004, leading to contract negotiations that have now been finalized. The contract is expected to produce approximately $1.2 million in revenue, the majority of it in 2005. The contract calls for the system to be delivered and installed during the first half of 2005.
Under the contract, Beacon Power will develop and install a system to demonstrate the potential benefits of using flywheel energy storage to provide frequency regulation of the grid, a service required by all grid operators. According to Beacon Power, a successful demonstration of frequency regulation with the California Independent System Operator will also serve to demonstrate the system’s technical and market feasibility in a large, important, growing market.
