Duluth Mayor Emily Larson proclaimed August 26th to be “Solar Storage Awareness Day” in Duluth during the commissioning ceremony of a new solar PV and battery storage system at the Hartley Nature Center. We spoke with Bret Pence, project specialist with Ecolibrium3 and co-leader on the Hartley Nature Center Solar Plus Storage Upgrade project, which can now store 14.2 kWh of energy.
What was your role in this project?
Bret Pence: I was a member of the project coordination team, along with many others, including Alison Hoxie (UMD). Ecolibrium3 was perhaps the initial instigator, as we see energy storage as a big potential driver of solar installations on Duluth.
In your opinion, what makes this project unique/ interesting?
Bret Pence: The partners involved, the speed in which we were able to get it on the ground, and the nature of the project. We believe it is the one of first solar and storage retrofit with resiliency features in the state and Midwest.
Do you imagine more nature centers or other buildings setting up similar systems?
Bret Pence: Yes. We think that this is a window into the (near) future, as the price if Li-Ion batteries continues to rapidly fall. Adding energy storage to a solar installation greatly increases the flexibility and value of the solar resource, providing resiliency features, other sources of income such as peak demand shaving, and, of course, allowing one to use the sun to power things when it’s not shining. And we are excited to break trail for others with this project!
UMD professor and project fellow co-leader Alison Hoxie added, “This solar plus storage project takes a big step in helping the area in its energy transition to a sustainable system. Demonstration projects like these educate everyone, the people involved with installation, the utility, the community and researchers and students at UMD.”
Also a special hat-tip to the CERTs parent organization within the University of Minnesota’s Extension, the Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships. The Northeast Regional Partnership provided a small amount of funding towards the project, and Bret noted, “The RSDP grant was absolutely critical to the Hartley solar and storage project. With it, we were able to do initial research, bring on partners, find additional sources of funding, keep the project focused (on education, resiliency, and value to Hartley), and move the install along in a timely manner. Without it, I’m not sure the project would have moved forward at all.”
To learn more, read a recent case study by the Minnesota Department of Commerce >>
