Lithium-Ion Battery Reduces Carbon Footprint for School, Town, Region

Groton School's new, state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery has released its first surge of power, a planned event designed to ease the burden on the region’s electric supply as demand for energy rose along with spring temperatures.

 

The Groton Electric Light Department (GELD) forecasts peak usage days and had alerted Groton School that May 19, with its summer-like weather, would push demand to a peak as consumers turned on air conditioning.

 

The school's battery, designed to recharge overnight when demand (and electric rates) are low, reduces the carbon footprint of the school, the town of Groton, and New England by releasing energy when it is most needed. Alleviating periods of excessive demand with a shot of stored energy helps utilities avoid turning to heavily polluting diesel generators.

  

GELD will continue to inform Groton School about upcoming peak energy usage days, and the school will release electricity stored in the lithium-ion battery to alleviate pressure on the regional power grid.

 

Just twelve peak hours a year—one each month—account for more than a third of the town’s electrical transmission costs, said GELD General Manager Kevin Kelly. “When you can discharge the battery during one of those twelve peak hours, it substantially lowers costs,” he said. 

 

The lithium-ion battery is housed at the John B. Goodenough ’40 Solar Battery Farm, named for the alumnus and Nobel Prize winner who pioneered the science behind the lithium-ion battery.