Santa Cruz County in California has partnered with Green Charge Networks on six lithium-ion battery towers at the Santa Cruz Governmental Center. The batteries may save residents $190,000 during the next ten years.
The county is paying nothing for the platform, which is valued at $250,000, according to the Santa Cruz Sentinel. The contract will provide Green Charge with as much as 75 percent of the savings from the systems' use. The savings are from using the batteries to store energy during periods of low grid usage. Costs are lowered because the stored electricity reduces the need for electricity from the grid during peak usage periods when it is the most expensive.
The county also is adding two electric vehicle charging stations to the one current in its parking lot.
Moody Investors Service issued a report that found that the reduction in the cost of batteries is making lithium-ion batteries increasingly affordable, according to a story at fuelfix.com. The study says that battery prices have shrunk by half since 2010.
