Iowa’s first large-scale PV-plus-storage project installed at university, uses flow battery

January 9, 2019
LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email
The university’s new solar and storage power plant, along with two smaller PV arrays and a small wind turbine, will bring the university’s renewable energy share to 43%. Image: Ideal Energy

Fairfield, Iowa’s Maharishi University of Management has completed and powered up a new solar power plant in mid-December. Designed and installed by Ideal Energy, it is the first system of its kind developed within the mid-western US state.

The installation features both single-axis tracking and vanadium redox flow battery energy storage. The 1.1MW EXTracker NX Horizon single-axis tracking array uses motors and a predictive algorithm to rotate solar panels throughout the day, following the sun’s path, generating around 15% more energy on a yearly basis than a fixed-tilt array of similar size. Nextracker NX Flow Avalon batteries are utilised at the site.

The project also includes a 1.05 MWh battery energy storage system, which helps to cut energy costs by peak shaving i.e. reducing the amount of power drawn from the grid at expensive peak times, which can significantly reduce non-residential electricity costs and has thus far been the biggest impetus in the US for commercial and industrial (C&I) energy storage deployment.

The university’s new solar and storage power plant, along with two smaller PV arrays and a small wind turbine, will bring the university’s renewable energy share to 43%. These installations will cover 33% of the campus’ total electrical needs.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Enjoy 12 months of exclusive analysis

Not ready to commit yet?
  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Annual digital subscription to the PV Tech Power journal
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

Iowa congressman Dave Loebsack said: “One of the more exciting things about this particular project is the battery storage aspect. This is leading us to the point where solar can be part of our base load capacity. If we can not only generate electricity throughout the day, but also store it so that we could use solar energy 24 hours a day, then it is by definition part of base load. And that is really exciting.”

Read Next

October 28, 2025
Singapore’s Jurong Island looks set to host a combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant with integrated battery storage.
October 24, 2025
Energy Vault has acquired a 150MW battery energy storage system (BESS) in Texas. Meanwhile, Jupiter Power has entered an agreement with Austin Energy to provide 100MW of electricity from a BESS facility.
October 24, 2025
Redwood Materials has closed a US$350 million Series E funding round to scale up its critical battery materials and energy storage businesses.
Premium
October 24, 2025
New company Lunas Energy has launched an offer for solar PV plant operators in Spain to deploy BESS on their land, as the sector struggles with curtailment and negative pricing.
October 24, 2025
Peregrine Energy Solutions has secured US$130 million from investors including the South Korean Ministry of Environment.

Most Popular

Email Newsletter