Utility developing big battery

EVERETT — The Snohomish County Public Utility District is getting ready to start using a battery as big as a shipping container that’s being developed as a way to encourage wind and solar power.

Utilities need a way to store electricity that varies with the wind and sunshine, and the Everett-based utility is leading the way.

“We’re trying to move the dial nationally,” Public Utility District general manager Steve Klein said.

The big battery at a utility district substation in Everett is capable of serving about 5,000 customers, The Daily Herald reported Friday .

The system uses existing technology and publicly available design and standards. That makes it easier for companies to enter the market.

It “allows battery companies, power-conversion equipment companies and software companies like us to focus on what we do best,” said David Kaplan, president of 1Energy Systems, which provided the control software.

The Public Utility District plans to add two more energy-storage units as part of the project. It will largely be covered by a $7.3 million grant from the state’s Department of Commerce.