Due to the large demand for wind energy on Long Island’s South Fork, National Grid will soon develop a large battery in East Hampton, to be connected to the upcoming South Fork Windfarm.
The South Fork Windfarm is a planned, offshore wind energy farm to be built 30 miles off the coast of Montauk. Since renewable energy production varies with the weather, the battery will be essential to storing excess electricity generated by wind turbines when the wind is high. When completed (projected to occur in 2018), the battery will be Long Island’s first large scale energy storage battery.
Developing batteries like this one is essential to making wind and solar energy reliable. Wind and solar production varies depending on daily conditions, so battery storage enables a constant energy output regardless of weather conditions. The battery will have a 5 Megawatt capacity, and be capable of providing up to 40 megawatt hours of energy once connected to the grid. The location of the battery will be near a Long Island Power Authority substation, which converts high voltages from energy sources into low voltages to be used in homes and businesses.
National Grid owns the land on which the battery, to be housed in a 4,000 sq. ft. building, will be built, and plans to operate it in a 50/50 joint partnership with NextEra Energy. The two companies are working together on other renewable energy projects as well, including a large solar farm and a proposed overhaul of a plant in Island Park. National Grid has said that the property, currently undeveloped, is not needed for its current operations.