What is the benefit of having battery storage on the grid?

Large scale battery storage systems like the Dumplin Valley facility benefit the local electrical grid by providing resiliency and flexibility from a non-emitting capacity resource. Moving toward advanced energy generation resources in the region will require balancing resources like the Dumplin Valley facility that can quickly adapt to evolving grid conditions over time.

How did you choose the project location for Dumplin Valley?

The Plus Power team considered a variety of siting criteria including but not limited to land use designations, archaeological and cultural resources, topography, and proximity to critical utility infrastructure. The Dumplin Valley facility location met the optimal criteria across all of these categories.

What prompted Plus Power to propose Dumplin Valley?

The Dumplin Valley facility is ideally situated to provide energy, capacity, and grid services in a region with growing local energy demand and future energy scarcity due to TVA's planned retirement of coal power plants.

How long will the batteries last? What will happen to them after that? 

The Dumplin Valley facility will have a lifespan of at least 20 years. The original battery systems installed at the site are anticipated to operate for at least 15 years. As the original system naturally degrades, Dumplin Valley will be augmented with supplemental battery storage units in the future. At the end of the project’s operating life, the facility will remove the battery system and restore the land to pre-existing conditions. Because the battery components contain valuable minerals, the system will be shipped away for recycling and salvage value.

Are there environmental, cultural or archaeological features that could be disturbed on the Dumplin Valley project site? 

Plus Power is developing the Dumplin Valley facility on property that has no known cultural or archaeological features within its footprint.

What considerations are being taken to ensure the safety of the project?  

Safety is paramount to Plus Power and the Dumplin Valley facility. Several measures are being taken to ensure reliable and safe operation of the system. From a technology perspective, the Dumplin Valley facility will utilize best-in-class lithium-ion cells based on battery chemistries similar to those used in cell phones, computers, and electric vehicles, although the battery and system will be held to the National Fire Protection Association 855 national standard and other related grid infrastructure codes and standards. In addition, the system will utilize a variety of thermal management systems as well as remote monitoring strategies in order to maintain system stability. The local Fire Departments will be fully engaged in design discussions through the process of creating a dedicated Emergency Response Plan for the project, and the Plus Power team will ensure there is significant collaboration and training with first responders in order to guarantee proper techniques are used in the unlikely event of an emergency.

Will Dumplin Valley be able to withstand a natural disaster?  

The Dumplin Valley facility will be designed per ASTM standards to ensure foundations and infrastructure are designed in accordance with local requirements. A detention basin will be utilized on site to manage stormwater and drainage.

Will the Dumplin Valley facility impact my views?  

The Dumplin Valley facility is ideally situated in an area away from residential areas. As such, the impact to local views will be very limited.