Wind turbines spin against the setting sun just north of Watertown along Interstate 29. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)
WATERTOWN, S.D. (South Dakota Searchlight) – A Florida-based company is seeking approval from South Dakota regulators to build a $174 million battery energy storage system that would capture excess energy from the electrical grid and release it at times of increased demand.
The project would be located on 53 acres within the existing Crowned Ridge wind energy project, 13 miles northeast of Watertown.
The permit application to the Public Utilities Commission was filed this month by Crowned Ridge Energy Storage, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources.
The facility would consist of lithium-ion battery cell modules housed in up to 150 “cabinets,” which bear a resemblance to shipping containers, according to a photo included in the permit application. The application says each “cabinet” would not exceed 25 feet in height. The site would also include a 20-foot-high sound wall along 860 feet of the northwest corner.
The Public Utilities Commission will hold a public input meeting about the project at 6 p.m. Central time on July 1 at the Waverly South Shore School gymnasium, at 319 Mary Place in Waverly.
The company hopes to have the project in operation by May 2028.
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