Background:Battery storage provides a range of potential benefits towards meeting state policy goals, resilience goals, and customer benefits. These include goals associated with electric vehicle (EV) charging, greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions, and economic development. For example, battery storage can defer the need for upgrades to the underlying distribution system, provide redundancy and charging options for electric transit buses, and enhance overall system reliability and renewable energy integration. In November 2020, the Maryland Public Service Commission approved two Delmarva Power-proposed battery storage pilot projects, one in Ocean City and one in Elk Neck.
Action: Delmarva Power has two battery storage projects in the planning stages in Maryland. One storage project consists of a 1 MW/3 MWH battery storage system located in Ocean City, MD and is testing the utility owner/utility operated model for battery storage to provide both resilience and reliability benefits. The battery will also support peak energy use savings and prevent grid emergencies.
The second project is located in Elk Neck, MD in a residential community located on an isolated peninsula in the Chesapeake Bay. This project is a “virtual power plant” that will provide resilience and reliability to 110 residential customers on a four-mile electric feeder. The virtual power plant will also help with peak energy use savings and prevent grid emergencies.
Greenhouse Gas Impact: The battery pilot is designed to inform Maryland policymakers and utilities about the optimal method of incorporating batteries into the Maryland electric distribution system. Batteries that are directly connected to photovoltaic (PV) arrays or that support additional renewable energy sources will reduce GHG emissions.