The storage systems are designed to help utilities match supply with varying demand by storing excess power in arrays of 2,800-pound (1,300 kg) flywheels at off-peak times for use during peak demand.[4]
History
Beacon Power was founded in Woburn, Massachusetts in 1997 as a subsidiary of SatCon Technology Corporation, a maker of alternative energy management systems. The company went public in 2000.[5][6][7] In June 2008, Beacon Power opened new headquarters in Tyngsboro, with financing from Massachusetts state agencies.[4]
In 2009 Beacon received a loan guarantee from the United States Department of Energy (DOE) for $43 million to build a 20-megawatt flywheel power plant in Stephentown, New York.[8][9] The DOE loan for $43 million was awarded in 2010, with the plant to be online by 2011. It also was awarded $24 million from the DOE for a second flywheel plant.[10]
On 30 October 2011, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection under in the United States bankruptcy court in Delaware.[11][12] As part of the bankruptcy court proceedings, Beacon Power agreed on November 18 to sell its Stephentown facility to repay the DOE loan.
As of 6 February 2012, Rockland Capital, a private equity firm, bought the plant and most of the company's other assets for $30.5 million.[13] Rockland Capital stated it intended to rehire most of staff and to provide the capital to build a second 20MW plant in Pennsylvania.[14]
Corum, Lyn. The New Core Technology: Energy storage is part of the smart grid evolution, The Journal of Energy Efficiency and Reliability, December 31, 2009. Discusses: Anaheim Public Utilities Department, lithium ion energy storage, iCel Systems, Beacon Power, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), ICEL, Self Generation Incentive Program, ICE Energy, vanadium redox flow, lithium Ion, regenerative fuel cell, ZBB, VRB, lead acid, CAES, and Thermal Energy Storage.