Reading Municipal Light Department officially commissioned the River Park Energy Storage System in May with a ribbon cutting and networking event. Local legislators, town officials, and industry partners were in attendance.
The River Park Energy Storage system will improve RMLD’s grid resiliency and provide peak demand reduction, the Massachusetts public power utility said.
Peak demand reduction helps decrease RMLD’s transmission and capacity costs, which represent nearly 40% of the RMLD cost structure.
The 10 MW system will also support RMLD’s ongoing climate initiatives, reducing reliance on high-emitting peaking power plants during times of highest demand, so that RMLD is better equipped for a non-carbon future, it said.
“The current energy market is fluid and dynamic. RMLD proactively seeks innovative solutions. Adding more energy storage within RMLD territory provides added control over peak demand and supports system reliability. RMLD is working on an additional 10-MW system slated for 2026 and further exploring longer-duration systems for the future,” said Gregory Phipps, general manager of RMLD.
The River Park Energy Storage System is the third RMLD energy storage facility in its territory.
State-of-the-art safety features include fire detection and suppression systems, an onsite Knox Box, and a 24-hour monitored fire alarm system.
RMLD collaborated with Kearsarge Energy on the project.
“Kearsarge Energy is pleased to collaborate with RMLD to construct and operate a 10MW/20 MWh Energy Storage System that is a unique clean energy solution for reducing transmission and capacity costs without affecting reliability. RMLD and the town of North Reading, and Teradyne, as site host, have all been excellent partners for the last three years and we are pleased to complete this project now -- when both energy costs and demand are projected to increase sharply,” said Andrew Bernstein, managing partner at Kearsarge Energy.
The American Public Power Association’s Public Power Energy Tracker is a resource for association members that summarizes public power energy storage projects that are currently online. The tracker is available here.
