Columbia County may soon be home to one of the most sustainable, advanced energy storage systems in the country, according to Alliant Energy.
The company announced it has been selected for a grant of up to approximately $30 million from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations for a proposed 200-megawatt hour energy storage system.
Alliant Energy’s new battery system, known as the Columbia Energy Storage Project, would be the first-of-its-kind in the United States and represents a significant advancement toward a more sustainable, reliable and cost-effective energy future.
“Guided by our purpose-driven strategy, we continue to invest in cost-effective, sustainable energy solutions for the customers and communities we proudly serve,” said John Larsen, board chair and CEO of Alliant Energy. “As we diversify our energy mix, the added capacity and unique capabilities of energy storage solutions will strengthen our generation portfolio, increase grid resilience, improve reliability and help us continue to meet customer needs. We appreciate the DOE’s support and investment in this advanced energy storage technology.”
The Columbia Energy Storage Project would utilize an innovative design by Energy Dome to deliver 10 hours of energy storage capacity by compressing carbon dioxide (CO2) gas into a liquid. When that energy is needed, the system converts the liquid CO2 back to a gas which powers a turbine to create electricity. This highly-efficient, zero-emissions, closed-loop battery system can power approximately 20,000 Wisconsin homes.
Alliant Energy has been developing a number of lithium ion battery storage facilities in Wisconsin including a 99-megawatt system on a seven-acre parcel near Sheboygan that can store enough energy to power over 100,000 Wisconsin homes for four hours as well as a combined 175 megawatts of battery energy storage capacity at its Grant County and Wood County solar sites.
Development of the Columbia Energy Storage Project is being led by Alliant Energy in partnership with WEC Energy Group, Madison Gas and Electric, Shell Global Solutions US, Electric Power Research Institute, UW-Madison and Madison College.
The facility will be built south of Portage, Wis. in the town of Pacific, near the current Columbia Energy Center. Alliant Energy expects to submit project plans to the Wisconsin Public Service Commission in the first half of 2024. Pending approval, project construction could begin in 2025 with completion in 2026. For more information on Alliant Energy’s energy storage projects, visit alliantenergy.com/battery.
