Advanced Rail Energy Storage, LLC (ARES) announced that its proposed commercial-scale gravity-based rail energy storage project has been granted a right-of-way lease by the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”). Once operational, the 50-megawatt project will encompass 106 acres of public land in Southern Nevada, and help stabilize the electric grid. ARES Nevada will connect to the power western grid via the facilities of Valley Electric Association.
Utilizing gravity, ARES Nevada will store energy and release it for dispatch when it’s needed. Using a single railroad track sited on a gentle grade, multiple electric locomotive cars can move up the track as they receive excess power from solar and wind power plants during sunny and windy days. The train cars will remain available and, when needed, be dispatched slowly downhill, using their motor-generators to return power to the electricity grid.
