Danville Utilities held a ribbon cutting on Tuesday for their new battery energy storage pilot project. Battery storage is one of several initiatives that Danville Utilities has undertaken to offset some of the volatility of the energy market.

The project by Delorean Power, will reduce the energy demand during peak usage times and lower power costs for consumers. It has a rated capacity of 10.5 megawatts and 24.6 megawatt hours, meaning it can provide approximately 10.5 megawatts of power for almost 2.5 hours during the peak events that determine Danville Utilities’ costs for transmission service and power capacity.

The project consists of eight containers that have 24 banks of batteries inside of them and is the largest of it’s kind in the state. Danville Utilities serves over 42,000 customers in Danville along with parts of Pittsylvania, Henry, and Halifax Counties.

Vice Mayor of Danville Dr. Gary Miller explained how the project will save customers money.

“This will kick in on that hottest day or that coldest day and shave the peak off,” said Miller, “they will then charge us according to the peak, which will be lower, so our transmission charges will go down.”