Battery energy storage systems as a solution for premium power quality

Voltage sags and power outages pose serious problems for many commercial and industrial power consumers with sensitive microprocessor controlled equipment. Recent studies have indicated that 95% of all power problems occur when power is 'disrupted' for 5 seconds or less. For those customers who normally have a 1 or 2 MVA service, a conventional uninterruptable power supply (UPS) can be an inappropriate solution. As an alternative, AC Battery Corporation has developed a 2 MVA/10 Second Power Quality System designed to eliminate power disturbances. The PQ2000 provides immediate response capacity appropriate for short duration, high-energy discharges. The PQ2000 Power Quality System dynamically disconnects critical loads from the utility and seamlessly transfers the load to battery power within approximately 1/4 cycle. The PQ2000 Power Quality System shown in Figure 1 draws from existing technologies and products that are commercially available today. The system combines mature battery energy storage technology with advanced power switching and sophisticated power conversion techniques to produce a new category of power quality protection devices for large industrial and commercial power consumers. Markets targeted for distribution include semiconductor manufacturers, hospitals, chemical processing plants, automated manufacturing facilities, biotechnology firms, data centers and other communications facilities with critical or sensitive transactions.