Nome utility officials hope a new battery system recently integrated into the local power system will result in more even energy costs throughout the year.

Right on cue one recent morning, the lights of Nome went dark at 4am. Nome Joint Utility System technicians were rushing to integrate the latest addition to the grid, a new battery energy storage system, or BESS.

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From the outside, BESS is inconspicuous among the storage containers scattered around Nome’s small marina. The new system sits in two shipping containers, each weighing about 50,000 pounds. Inside, rack-mounted battery modules hum to the sound of spinning cooling fans.

The company’s superintendent of field operations, Thomas Simonsson, explained how the new system will work.

“So the windmill will generate power to the battery bank, and if there’s a day when there’s no wind, we’ll be able to use the battery to offset the generators,” Simonsson said.

From his desk, Simonsson opened a program on his computer to view Nome’s current request.

“So now our demand or system load is to see … 4000 kW,” explained Simonsson.

Generators operate most efficiently when meeting about 70% of this demand. If the wind picks up, the company’s two 900 kW wind turbines can meet and even exceed the rest of the demand.

“One of my windmills could produce, if there was wind, what it is today, I could probably make up for the 700 KW,” Simonsson said.

And now, thanks to the new 2.75 kWh battery system, excess energy can be stored and used on days when it’s not so windy.

Being able to dynamically mix diesel, wind and battery power sources is more than a party trick. Managing director John Handeland says it will contribute to rising energy costs for residents in the coming years.

“Our big variable is the cost of diesel. You just don’t know from year to year what that could be,” Handeland said.

In the future, Handeland hopes the utility can add at least two more windmills to the Banner Creek Wind Farm north of Nome. Along with this would probably come an investment in additional batteries to increase network capacity.

This system near Nome’s small boat harbor received $2 million in grants from the Alaska Power Authority’s Renewable Energy Fund, as well as $300,000 from the Denali Commission. Handeland says it would seek similar funding for future expansion efforts.