MANY MINDEDNebraska microgrid adds a zinc battery to widen storage beyond lithium
Lincoln Electric System, a publicly owned nonprofit utility, is energizing a 3-MW/12-MWh zinc-based battery in Lincoln, Nebraska. The battery supports a 30-MW microgrid that serves the state Capitol complex, a federal building, city offices, and two public safety facilities, and it adds roughly 10% to that microgrid's capacity. It is LES's first grid-scale battery project, now in final commissioning with commercial operation expected in the coming weeks.
The battery was made by Eos Energy Enterprises of Pittsburgh, chosen after an RFP LES issued in late 2021. The microgrid also includes a dual-fuel combustion turbine, 300 kW of customer-owned solar, and 500 kW of customer-owned thermal storage. LES's overall system historically peaks around 800 MW.
What makes this notable is the chemistry. Zinc-based storage sits outside the lithium supply chain, so grid-scale deployments that use it diversify where the materials and manufacturing come from. Eos is also supplying a 36-MW/216-MWh system for Springfield, Missouri's municipal utility and a 100-MW/400-MWh project in the ERCOT market, suggesting the technology is being deployed at meaningful scale. For energy abundance, more storage options mean less exposure to any single constrained material.
The caveats: the battery had not yet begun commercial operations at publication, and cost and performance claims come from LES director Scott Benson rather than independent testing. Benson also said LES has no immediate plans for more batteries. What to watch is whether the larger Eos projects perform as promised once running.
Source: Utility Dive