Distributed Energy Resources, Energy Storage, Utilities, Solar  -  December 9, 2024

Rockford and DOE Commission Solar, Battery Storage

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) entered into a partnership to commission a battery-energy storage system in Rockford, Illinois. 

The pilot project pairs the new battery energy storage system with an existing customer-owned solar deployment located at Rockford’s Prairie Street Brewing Company. This system will enable ComEd’s research into distributed energy resource management systems to support the efficient use of solar power generation and grid resiliency. Testing of the battery system and solar panels will run through January 2025.

This battery system is a critical component of ComEd’s ongoing $6.5 million solar and battery energy storage project, funded in part through the DOE Enabling Extreme Real-Time Grid Integration of Solar Energy (ENERGISE) program. 

“Building on our nation-leading reliability and resiliency, ComEd continues to invest in modernizing and strengthening the grid our customers rely on,” said Gil C. Quiniones, President and CEO of ComEd, in a statement. “Exploratory pilot projects like this one are crucial to ensuring the grid is fully prepared to support large-scale solar and battery energy storage solutions that are key to the clean energy future in northern Illinois.”

The test pilot is funded by $3.2 million in DOE grant funding and $3.3 million from ComEd and other project partners. It will explore the benefits of distributed energy resource management systems (DERMS) to support the integration of private solar panel deployments to grid-connected battery energy storage systems. The results will provide critical data to support the scalability of similar generation deployments throughout northern Illinois to encourage expanded solar generation and support a more resilient and adaptive power grid.

The solar panels, owned by the Koch family and located at local Rockford brewery Prairie Street Brewing Company, provide additional power generation for the brewery. 

ComEd deployed a battery energy storage solution half a mile from the brewery to store power generated from the panels and better connect that energy with the community’s grid. This project is also directly supporting the brewery by maximizing the potential of its solar energy generation.

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