(Pacific) Alliant Energy has announced that Columbia County may soon be home to one of the most sustainable, advanced energy storage systems in the country. Company officials say they have been selected for a grant of up to approximately $30-million-dollars from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations for a proposed 200-megawatt hour energy storage system.
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 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.
It is estimated that this zero-emissions, closed loop battery system can power approximately 20-thousand Wisconsin homes. Board Chair and CEO of Alliant Energy John Larsen says as they diversify their energy mix, they added capacity and unique capabilities of energy storage solutions will strengthen their generation portfolio, increase grid resilience, improve reliability, and help them continue to meet customer needs.
The facility will be built south of Portage 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 2024 with completion in 2026.
