Shifts Load in Cost Effective Manner

UNION CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--An independent study released this week by California's Emerging Technologies Coordinating Council (ETCC) concludes that Amber Kinetics' four-hour discharge duration flywheel storage technology (FES) effectively shifts load in a cost effective manner, and recommends it for adoption into the state's Self Generation Incentive Program (SGIP).

Based on test data from an Amber Kinetics M25 flywheel (6.25kW/25kWh), independent engineering firm ASWB conducted a financial payback analysis with three scenarios (no incentives, hypothetical permanent load shifting, and hypothetical SGIP) using a San Diego Gas & Electric Time of Use rate. In the SGIP scenario, the Amber Kinetics flywheel produced an eye popping simple payback of between 2.09 and 3.17 years, and an internal rate of return of between 33% and 49%.

The study is available for download at http://www.etcc-ca.com/reports/flywheel-energy-storage-study.

The demonstration project evaluated the round trip efficiency of Amber Kinetics' flywheels and investigated the system's capabilities to provide services, including load shifting and ancillary services needed for grid stabilization.

The authors concluded that Amber Kinetics flywheels performance "…speaks to the consistency, reliability and simplicity of the technology." While they noted that their research focused on behind the meter applications, they also stated, "Utilizing this emerging technology on the supply side would provide the grid with more flexibility and load regulation opportunities."

"I'm delighted with the results, especially since they were produced by an early production model which has since been replaced with a newer, more powerful flywheel," said Amber Kinetics Chief Executive Officer Ed Chiao.

To help achieve the state's ambitious energy savings goals, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Southern California Edison, Southern California Gas Company, San Diego Gas & Electric, and the California Energy Commission created the Emerging Technologies Coordinating Council with oversight from the California Public Utilities Commission. The ETCC Leadership Team has grown to include California's largest municipal utilities, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

About Amber Kinetics

Amber Kinetics began shipping its flywheels commercially in September 2016. To date, the company's fleet of demonstration and commercial units has accumulated more than 15,000 hours of continuous run time domestically and abroad, often in extreme weather conditions.

Headquartered in Union City, CA, Amber Kinetics was founded in anticipation of the enormous worldwide demand for competitively priced, safe, environmentally sustainable, multi-hour energy storage. The company is vertically integrated, manufacturing its technology and developing energy storage projects using its flywheel system - a common model in the PV solar industry.