FlexGen is helping the Indiana-based Northeastern Rural Electric Membership Corp (NREMC) add 108 megawatt-hours of lithium-ion battery storage capacity in what is the largest battery storage project in Indiana, Kallanish reports.

When commissioned in 2021, the two FlexGen battery systems will together deliver a total of 14 megawatts of power, enough to supply three hours of power to more than 3,200 homes in eastern Indiana.

The two systems will provide 21.6 MWh and 25.2 MWh. The systems will charge in off-peak times when energy prices are lower and provide electricity for peak demand in the evenings and during power outages. The systems are expected to save customers more than $35 million over the next 20 years, the companies report.

The initial battery systems will be built next to NREMC substations in Allen and Whitley counties. Ground-breaking is scheduled for next summer. The total project will encompass five sites in the utility’s six-county region when complete.

Adding the battery storage is a “critically important project,” says NREMC ceo Eric Jung in a statement about the five-year pact.

Indiana utilities are interested in battery storage because coal-fired power plants are being shut down in the state and utilities are adding renewable energy and need battery storage capacity.

NREMC is the one of the largest rural utility cooperatives in Indiana with 30,000 residential and business customers. FlexGen, with offices in California and North Carolina, is the second-largest energy storage provider in the US.