BP has teamed up with Tesla to build its first battery storage project at one of its U.S. wind farms as part of a strategy to expand its renewable energy business, the energy group said on Tuesday.
Tesla will supply the 212 kilowatts (KW)/840 kilowatt-hour battery at BP's Titan 1 wind farm in South Dakota in the second half of this year. It operates 12 other wind farms in the United States.
Providing large-scale battery power to windfarms allows them to store energy when the wind is ample and make electricity available when demand is high, offering a crucial commercial advantage to an otherwise volatile energy source.
"Lessons from the project will enable BP to make better-informed decisions when evaluating and developing battery applications in the future," BP said in a statement.
"The project also supports BP’s broader strategy to invest half a billion dollars annually into low-carbon technologies, including projects within its established renewables portfolio as well as in new low-carbon businesses."
Several oil firms have already invested in battery technology. Norway's Statoil plans to use a battery system, called Batwind, with its Hywind floating wind farm off the coast of Scotland.
Vitol-owned VPI Immingham has developed a 50 megawatt, grid-connected battery portfolio in Britain.
BP estimates renewables could account for around 10 percent of global energy demand by 2035, up from 4 percent currently.
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