By Editors of Power Engineering

After a successful demonstration in April, GE is now making its hybrid battery storage solution available to all of its gas and coal-fired power plants.

The system combines gas turbine peakers and batteries with power-management software that allows for immediate power as gas turbines ramp up. When the gas turbine is fully operational, it recharges the batteries as it supplies power to the grid.

GE and Southern California Edison first deployed this system, which combined a 50-MW turbine and a 10-MW battery, at two sites near Los Angeles.

The company indicated falling battery costs will make the hybrid system more affordable to an array of power generating facilities.

“As an industry, I think we’re just scratching the surface in terms of the opportunities to optimize these hybrid solutions,” said Brian Gutknecht, chief marketing officer for GE Power.