The company successfully deployed two lithium nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) oxide energy storage systems (ESSs) - a 24-megawatt (MW) system / 9-megawatt hour (MWh) and a 16 MW / 6 MWh system—for frequency regulation on the South Korean electricity grid. The 24 MW system is the largest capacity lithium NMC ESS used for frequency regulation in the world.
Operational since January 2016, the two new systems, along with a Kokam 16MW / 5MWh Lithium Titanate Oxide (LTO) ESS system deployed in August 2015, provide South Korea's largest utility, Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) with 56 MW of energy storage capacity for frequency regulation. These three systems are part of the world’s largest ESS frequency regulation project.
In addition to improving grid reliability, the Kokam ESSs will enable KEPCO to improve its operation efficiency by reducing its need for spinning power generation reserves. This will allow KEPCO to shift energy generation to lower cost, more efficient power plants and decrease “wear and tear” on all its power plants.
For example, the three Kokam ESSs will deliver an estimated annual savings of US$13 million in fuel costs, providing fuel cost savings three times larger than the ESSs’ purchase price over the systems’ lifetimes. In addition, by reducing the amount of fossil fuels burnt for frequency regulation, the Kokam ESSs will help reduce KEPCO’s greenhouse gas emissions.
