Austin, TX: ViZn Energy Systems Inc., a provider of utility scale energy storage systems, is working to integrate its zinc iron flow battery storage system for what it projects as a record low price of 4¢/kWh, according to a July 11 news release.
A ViZn 30 MW, 4-hour system added to a 100 MW solar plant can generate a seven percent internal rate of return (IRR) with a 4¢/kWh power purchase agreement 20 percent below the lowest published values, the company says. Now, utilities can add energy storage to a wind or solar farm at a lower price than coal-fired generation (6¢/kWh per Bloomberg New Energy Finance), paving a clear path toward 100 percent renewable penetration. This calculation is independent from any additional revenue streams derived from the ancillary services made possible by ViZn battery systems, the ViZn adds.
"The lowest cost and most abundant energy now comes from solar and wind, and these systems can now produce power 24/7 because of energy storage. More importantly, ViZn's flow battery systems do it at a fraction of the cost of lithium ion. "Solar Nights™" are now a reality and they are powered by clean, domestically produced, low cost, and infinitely available energy," said Ron Van Dell, CEO of ViZn Energy Systems.
Currently, leading lithium ion batteries last for only 7 to 10 years and are engineered to provide either one energy service-focused or one power service-focused cycle per day. ViZn says its full-service zinc-iron flow battery system can deliver both power and energy services for 20 years with no fade and can operate two, full-duty cycles per day. ViZn's versatility enables utilities to balance intermittent renewable energy while dispatching to address high value ancillary services such as frequency regulation, spinning reserve, transmission and distribution deferral, black start, and congestion relief.
"Nearly every utility daily demand curve in the world has a morning peak and a late afternoon peak and almost every solar and wind farm is financed for a 20-year economic lifetime. It is not hard to understand how a fade-free battery that delivers two cycles per day for 20 years is able to contract for output at record low energy storage system prices," further commented Van Dell. ViZn Energy's flow batteries experience zero capacity fade over 20 years, he added, and “they have full access to 100 percent of their state of charge, giving them significantly more usable output than competitive batteries.”