HiVE ENERGY SYSTEMS has been chosen to supply its state of the art storage system to the Pacific Energy Assurance and Resiliency Laboratory (“PEARL”), a renewable-energy microgrid research project located in Hawaii at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.
According to the official US Air Force website, PEARL is part of the US military’s ongoing efforts to demonstrate new ways its facilities can meet their energy needs in a cleaner and more cost-effective way. PEARL will allow the Air Force to evaluate renewable energy generation, storage, and control technologies and their ability to strengthen military mission assurance and cyber security.
“We are thrilled to supply the core component of this important project,” announced Abbas Akhil, Chief Technology Officer of HiVE. “As our residential and commercial storage systems are gaining traction in their market segments, we are particularly gratified that the US Air Force chose HiVE based on its resiliency and dependability.”
Like all HiVE systems, the one supplied to the PEARL project is designed to store surplus solar PV energy and seamlessly return it to the microgrid when the sun is not shining. The unique aspect of the PEARL system is its pre-cast concrete enclosure, fabricated to military specifications by Hawaii-based Ecostrukture. HNU Energy, was selected as the project engineering and installation firm.
The first of six planned microgrids, PEARL will support Air Force energy assurance and resiliency objectives. “Microgrids … provid[e] secure and reliable energy for DOD installations,” said Program Manager Kevin Spitzer on the Official USAF Website. “They provide a measure of energy assurance to guard against natural disaster, cyber threats, and disruptions in power, helping to ensure continued operations. Microgrids can help reduce use of fossil fuels, minimize solid waste, and lower the greenhouse-gas emissions generated during military operations.”
“HiVE’s battery storage systems are the ideal solution for any off-grid or grid-tied application,” Akhil continued. “HiVE is changing the face of today’s energy marketplace by efficiently converting solar or wind power into firm, steady, reliable power 24/7. HiVE has the potential to eliminate fossil fuel-generated electricity and its related pollution while guaranteeing abundant supplies of future clean energy.
With a fully-deployed network of HiVE systems, this transformation is possible. In its home market, with the highest energy costs in the US and abundant solar and wind energy potential, HiVE will enable Hawaii to achieve its aggressive mandate of 100% renewable energy by 2045. HiVE is the gateway solution that could transition today’s electrical grid, because its intelligent, interactive control unit interconnects and communicates with other HiVE systems – effectively creating an entirely new digital grid of clean, firm, steady renewable power.”