Five-project portfolio with rural electric cooperatives and municipal utility will reduce peak demand costs, enhance reliability and support load growth

ARLINGTON, Va.: Lightshift Energy, a utility-scale energy storage developer, owner, and operator, and the Blue Ridge Power Agency (BRPA) today announced a partnership to deploy a portfolio of battery energy storage projects across Virginia in collaboration with Central Virginia Electric Cooperative (CVEC), Craig-Botetourt Electric Cooperative (CBEC), and the City of Salem Electric Department (Salem), with the potential for more BRPA projects in the future. The first five projects are currently under construction and are expected to be online in 2026. The initial project portfolio will save the BRPA utilities approximately $100 million over project lifetimes.

The five-project portfolio has been strategically deployed in rural Virginia at three CVEC locations, one with CBEC, and one with Salem. The projects are all approximately 5MWs and are distribution-connected, allowing them to provide benefits to both the distribution and transmission systems as well as the local communities. When operational, the projects will discharge energy during periods of high demand, reducing transmission and capacity costs that drive electricity prices for cooperative members and utility customers.

At a time when electricity demand and costs are rising, there is a shortage of power supply across the PJM market, and system conditions are becoming more volatile, the portfolio will offer a needed source of peak power capacity and is expected to deliver approximately $100 million in savings over its lifetime while improving grid reliability and directly benefiting local communities.

“We are excited to see these facilities come online and produce savings for the members and customers of CBEC, CVEC, and Salem,” said Alice Wolfe, General Manager of BRPA. “Rising transmission and capacity costs have been a source of concern for some time, and these new battery projects will begin to control these costs. The staff, boards, and council of CBEC, CVEC, and Salem deserve credit for their thoughtful and committed leadership.”

“As Virginia continues to increase its appetite for energy storage, electric cooperatives and municipal utilities are uniquely positioned to lead on innovative applications that directly benefit their members,” said Mike Herbert, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Lightshift Energy. “By working together with BRPA, CVEC, CBEC, and Salem, this coordinated effort exemplifies how portfolios of distribution-connected storage can offer not only significant savings to the participating utilities, but also fast and cost-effective capacity during a time that the PJM market is scrambling to bring on new resources and keep electricity prices low.”

The portfolio helps satisfy growing demand across the region, including from large new loads such as data centers, which are increasing pressure on local infrastructure and accelerating the need for flexible resources. Fleet deployments of distribution-connected storage are well suited to meet this moment, providing a scalable approach to accelerate the delivery capacity where it is needed most. Lightshift refers to this portfolio-based approach for megawatt-scale storage deployment as VPP+, as it offers a much faster path to capacity delivery than transmission-connected projects while unlocking economies of scale that are not possible with smaller, behind-the-meter assets.

About Lightshift Energy

Lightshift Energy is a utility-scale energy storage developer, owner, and operator headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. Founded in 2019, the company develops impactful standalone energy storage projects that deliver value through advanced analytics and value stacking. Through its VPP+ portfolio approach, Lightshift also coordinates distributed storage assets to operate as larger grid resources, maximizing value for utility partners and their customers while investing downstream in communities for their direct benefit. For more information, please visit www.lightshift.com.

About BRPA

The Blue Ridge Power Agency is a non-profit corporation created by its members to pursue joint action. Through the members’ collective resolve and economies of scale, the Agency pursues the most reliable and lowest cost wholesale electric power supplies possible for its members. Power supply and related transmission service are the Agency’s top priorities. The Agency also serves as its members’ voice in industry organizations, monitors state and federal regulatory proceedings and litigation, and advocates for member interests both directly and through associated trade organizations.

Fonte: Business Wire