Appalachian Power has canceled its plans to build a battery energy storage system in Southwest Virginia, citing factors including storm damage brought by Hurricane Helene last year.
State regulators last year approved Appalachian’s plan to build the system on two sites in Grayson and Smyth counties to serve around 2,790 customers on the utility’s Glade-Whitetop circuit. It would have stored electricity drawn from the grid and deployed it during high-demand periods and outages.
The Glade-Whitetop circuit runs over 260 miles of mountainous terrain that is difficult to reach for repairs. Appalachian has said that although the circuit represents 0.5% of its 540,000 Virginia customers, it accounts for 1.3% of system outages and is one of the company’s least reliable circuits.
“We understand that our customers rely on us for safe, reliable electric service, and we remain dedicated to finding solutions for improvement that will benefit our communities most,” Appalachian spokesperson Ashley Workman said in a statement on Friday.
Workman said the utility instead will focus on relocating power lines in the Skulls Gap and Chilhowie areas of Smyth County.
Appalachian will also implement technology to automatically pinpoint outage locations and reroute electricity as needed in the Glade-Whitetop and Independence areas, she said.
Smyth County Administrator Shawn Utt said in an email that residents had been excited about the battery system since power outages are “not rare” in the area.
“I truly hate to hear they’re pulling the project … We appreciate APCo recognizing the community’s need and are here to support however they choose to improve the power service’s reliability,” Utt said.
The Smyth County site on Laurel Valley Road that was proposed for the battery system has been a solid waste convenience station.
Utt said that he expects it will continue serving that purpose, but because the site is actually owned and operated by Washington County, he will discuss plans with the county administrator there in the coming weeks.
The $57.3 million battery energy storage system would have had 7.5 megawatts of capacity and 30 megawatt-hours of energy, which means it could have put out its maximum capacity of electricity for up to four hours.
It would have been Appalachian’s first step toward meeting a state-mandated requirement to add battery energy storage to its portfolio.
But much of Southwest Virginia suffered historic damage from the remnants of Hurricane Helene last year, and the area where Appalachian planned to build the system “was not immune to these impacts,” Workman said.
“APCo has since decided to cancel the Glade-Whitetop BESS project due to many factors, including increased commodity prices and unanticipated construction challenges,” she said.
Appalachian’s plan to build the battery system was not met with universal support as it sought regulatory approval from the commonwealth after submitting its application in January 2024.
Staff of the State Corporation Commission, which regulates utilities in Virginia, had recommended Appalachian Power build a new electric substation instead.
Although that would cost about $5 million more, SCC staff said it would benefit more customers and would last 30 years compared to the 20-year expected lifespan of the battery energy storage system.
SCC staff also said a substation would provide continuous power rather than the limited amount available in the batteries, which could be depleted during long outages before service was restored.
U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, also questioned the battery energy storage system’s efficacy. In a letter to the SCC, he said outages in that region can last for days and the battery system would “only put a band-aid on the problem.”
