Dive Brief:

E.ON Climate & Renewables North America has signed an agreement with Arizona utility Tucson Electric Power (TEP) to provide frequency response and voltage control from a grid-scale, 10 MW storage facility with a 2 MW solar array.

E.ON is working with Greensmith Energy to design and integrate the Iron Horse Battery Energy Storage Project that is slated to be located adjacent to the University of Arizona Science and Technology Park southeast of Tucson.

The project will provide TEP with ancilary services over the 10 year life of the contract. The project is slated to go online in the first half of 2017.

Dive Insight:

With 1.1 GW of renewables expected on its system by 2030, TEP is looking for ways to bolster the stability of its grid. The project is similar to one fellow Arizona utility Arizona Public Service Co. plans to build down the road.



TEP's agreement with E.On is aimed at providing frequency response and voltage control for the utility. “The system will be capable of responding faster than conventional generation to adjust to rapid changes in power demand,” Mark Frigo, E.ON’s vice president of energy storage North America, said in a statement.



Last December E.ON made an unspecified investment in Greensmith, which will be E.ON's partner on the Iron Horse project.



The Arizona storage project builds on E.ON's existing solar projects in Arizona. E.ON provides energy to TEP from its 6.6 MW Tech Park Solar and 13.2 MW Valencia Solar facilities. E.ON also partnered on the construction of TEP’s 17.2 MW solar facility at the Fort Huachuca Army Base near Sierra Vi