A regional energy company says they’re installing a utility-scale battery in Knoxville, and its inclusion in the power system is a game-changer for renewable energy.

MidAmerican Energy Company says they are just weeks away from activating their new battery storage system; it will go at the substation near the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, and can provide 1 megawatt of power for up to four hours. That’s enough to power about 900 homes.

Geoff Greenwood from MidAmerican tells KNIA/KRLS News this will be a boon to renewable energy producers and distributors, because those forms of energy aren’t always available.

“The wind isn’t always blowing; and for utilities that have deployed large amounts of solar energy, particularly southwest, the sun isn’t always shining,” Greenwood says. “So this enables us to store energy when we can collect it, and then inject it into the grid when we really need it.”

Greenwood says the Knoxville site was chosen because it has plenty of space to work with and direct access to the power grid.

If this pilot project turns out to be successful, it could be expanded to other areas in MidAmerican’s system; it will allow companies to distribute power on a regular basis, by storing it when demand is low and releasing it when it’s high.