Power company announces first-of-its-kind facility that could help cut home energy costs: 'Complementary technology'

Continuing the century-long legacy of the retired coal-fired Plant Gorgas in Walker County, Alabama Power is building the state's first utility-scale battery energy storage system on the site's grounds, Reuters reported. This site will be renamed the Gorgas Battery Facility, according to Alabama Power's news release. 

In early March, the state's largest utility company announced its plans to build a battery energy storage system to hold up to 150 megawatts of electricity. This is enough energy to power about 9,000 homes. 

Per Alabama Power, the battery energy storage system will be designed to connect to the electric grid for direct charge during times of low demand, storing the power for later use. This allows Alabama Power to generate electricity when costs are lower and to keep energy costs low for consumers by releasing the stored energy to the grid during high demand times. 

"This facility will help Alabama Power understand how we can best use battery systems on our electric grid so that customers have power when they need it," said Alabama Power chairman, president, and CEO Jeff Peoples, per the news release. 

With clean energy making up more than a third of the utility company's fuel sources, this battery energy storage system can "help integrate additional clean energy resources into the company's generation mix, providing complementary technology for variable, weather-dependent resources, like solar," the news release read. 

This battery energy storage system can make more efficient use of energy generated by clean energy sources, helping to speed the replacement of dirty fuel energy. 

This cutting-edge induction stove also has a battery energy storage system that can help you cut home energy costs by storing energy (for the stove) for later use when energy prices are high. This way, even during high power demand times, you're still paying the lowest cost for your energy. 

In like fashion, this smart water heater can help reduce energy bills by analyzing your household water usage patterns and optimizing the pump to save energy when it is not needed but kicking in when it is. 

The construction of Alabama Power's utility-scale battery energy storage system will begin this year and is set to be completed by 2027. 

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