As just one example of Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation’s recognized leadership in the utility industry, President and C.E.O. Charles A Freni, Jr. has had an article, titled Battery Storage Technologies, published in a national energy industry magazine. The feature delves into measures to advance nascent battery storage technologies in support of electric grid initiatives undertaken by Central Hudson to further the technology’s deployment. The magazine, Energy CIO Insights, “cumulates the latest technology, opinions, analyses and discussion of the most predominant issues in the field of energy.”

In his article, Freni described the role batteries will one day play in enabling the widespread use of renewable energy resources, as electricity generated from solar, wind and water are intermittent and depend upon environmental conditions. Batteries can store the energy generated by these resources for later use; however, advances in battery technology are still required to allow for greater adoption. 

 “Today’s battery technology has the potential to…become a transformative technology that provides significant public benefits. Batteries are envisioned to enable the adoption of new technologies that offer cleaner energy sources and enhanced system resiliency….Large-scale battery development is in its nascent stages. While advances in storage are encouraging, technology and production cycles are still evolving. A major concern is the high cost of storage today, as compared to other technologies, and how that will impact end users, i.e. our customer,” he explained.

To help accelerate battery technologies and reduce costs, Freni noted that Central Hudson is collaborating with state regulators and other utilities in developing an energy storage roadmap to identify policies, regulations and initiatives for battery deployment, as well as market rules for integrating battery storage.

Freni also described Central Hudson’s support of a solar-battery demonstration project on the campus of the State University at New Paltz. He said, “Under the initiative, solar arrays paired with a 200 kilowatt-hour battery storage system were installed to assess smart inverter grid support functions and create a microgrid to provide emergency power for the campus gymnasium, which also serves as a college and community shelter. The research for this project is ongoing, but is an example of the type of public-private partnership that can provide needed experience with battery storage to help to cost effectively and responsibly advance this important technology.”

To view the complete edition of the magazine with article, log onto www.EnergyCIOInsights.com/magazines/November2018/Battery_and_EnergyStorage/.

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