US Department of Energy will offer a free webinar about Alliant Energy's new battery technology project Decorah

A free webinar will be offered at noon on Thursday, July 30th, about Alliant Energy's plans for a battery-storage project in Decorah.  The webinar is co-sponsored and jointly supported by Alliant Energy, US Department of Energy and the Iowa Economic Development Authority.  Anyone interested in participating in the webinar can register at: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/1517267080561481997

Battery storage is needed in Decorah because one electric circuit that serves the community will start to reach capacity as more customer-owned renewable energy systems are added. Until now, energy companies have had to either upgrade the grid in a community, which was expensive, or restrict the number of solar arrays that could be added in one area. Using battery storage to meet this challenge is just one of many applications which may lower customer costs.

"This battery project is a game-changer in Decorah," said Alliant Energy Iowa President Terry Kouba, adding, "We're installing it on a circuit that's near capacity for solar. Using batteries can add critical capacity and may save our customers money, because a battery costs a fraction of the total to upgrade our system."

The project is jointly supported by a $250,000 cost-share from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Electricity (DOE-OE) and a $200,000 grant from the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA). The battery will sit on land Alliant Energy leases from the City of Decorah. Sandia National Laboratories is providing technical support for the project and will collect operational data. This data will be used by the Department of Energy as part of the DOE-OE Stationary Energy Storage Program.

The 2.5-megawatt, 2.922-megawatt-hour battery will serve as an "electron bank" to store excess solar power. It will store energy generated when the sun is most powerful and then release it in the evening, when demand for electricity peaks. It will also provide valuable insight into the challenges of providing reliable and affordable electricity in areas with a concentration of customer-owned solar. Lessons learned from the Decorah pilot will inform similar, future battery projects.

The Decorah energy storage project is expected to be complete and in service by the end of 2020. It will be the company's third battery storage project in Iowa. Alliant Energy has a smaller battery in a similar application near Wellman. It is also adding a battery to store energy from the company's solar garden in Marshalltown.