PUD considering new technology to store extra power

EVERETT — Picture what the rectangular battery in your smoke detector would look like if it were a little stretched out lengthwise and 1,000 times bigger.

It would be roughly the size of a ship container. Instead of powering smoke detectors, it could run TVs, heating systems, appliances and lamps in about 750 homes.

Some of these giant batteries could turn up in neighborhood electrical substations in the years to come.

The Snohomish County Public Utility District is looking into the fledgling technology as a way to store energy from renewable sources such as wind and solar power.

The juice can be socked away during peak production periods and used later when it’s needed the most.

The Legislature this year set aside up to $15 million for low-interest loans to utilities to develop pilot projects for energy storage. That money is part of a $40 million allocation for several programs to promote clean energy.

Ideally, the PUD could partner with other utilities on a project, general manager Steve Klein said.

The technology is new, expensive and there’s little standardization, he said. If the utilities can work together on a large purchase, they can influence the market and help bring the price down, Klein said.

“The more parties that participate, the better,” he said.

Utilities would be required to match the funds, said state Rep. Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish, who helped get the money into the budget with encouragement from Gov. Jay Inslee.

“We want them to have skin in the game, too,” Dunshee said.

The money will have to be used within two years.

“If it’s successful, we’ll re-up it,” he said.

Wind and solar power ebb and flow with the weather and seasons. At times in recent years, the Bonneville Power Administration, the Oregon-based federal agency that manages the power grid in the Northwest, has forced a shut-off of wind power because the system couldn’t handle the extra load.

The industry is developing ways to store that power. The Notrees Windpower Project, a large wind farm in Texas, recently installed large batteries capable of delivering 36 megawatts of electricity. That’s enough to power 27,000 homes. While that sounds impressive, some suggest that the batteries only can deliver that much energy for a relatively short period of time, perhaps only minutes.

Even so, some wind and solar power systems are now coming equipped with battery storage capacity, according to a report in Grist, an online publication.

The PUD provides electricity to Snohomish County and Camano Island. Most of the utility’s power is generated by large hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River, and that won’t change in the near future. But the PUD’s percentage of electricity from wind and solar power has risen to 11.5 percent, spokesman Neil Neroutsos said — on average, enough to power 66,000 homes.

Most of that amount is purchased from wind farms in Eastern Washington and Oregon, though the number of households with solar power in the PUD’s service area has tripled in the past three years, from 100 to 300.

The PUD and all other utilities in the state are required by I-937, passed in 2006, to provide 15 percent of their power through renewable sources by 2020.

The pilot storage unit would likely be located at a substation in the southern part of Everett — possibly Merrill Creek near the Boeing plant, officials said.

Rather than a large central point of storage as with the Texas wind farm, the PUD would likely install 1 megawatt batteries — enough to power 750 homes — at different substations to keep the power close to where it will be used, Klein said.

Dunshee said being able to store the power should help utilities reduce the cost of power over the long term.

“This should make energy more affordable for folks,” he said.

Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439; sheets@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Cassie Franklin, Mayor of Everett, delivers the annual state of the city address Thursday morning in the Edward D. Hansen Conference Center in Everett, Washington on March 31, 2022.  (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
At Everett mayor’s keynote speech: $35 entry, Boeing sponsorship

The city won’t make any money from the event, city spokesperson Simone Tarver said. Still, it’s part of a trend making open government advocates wary.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.