Blue Ridge Power Agency (BRPA) is turning to Lightshift Energy to deploy a portfolio of battery energy storage projects across Virginia in collaboration with Central Virginia Electric Cooperative (CVEC), Craig-Botetourt Electric Cooperative (CBEC) and the City of Salem Electric Department, with the potential for more BRPA projects in the future. The first five projects are currently under construction and are expected to be online in 2026. The initial project portfolio will save the BRPA utilities approximately $100 million over project lifetimes.
A Lightshift Energy BESS project under construction in Danville, Virginia. Credit: Lightshift Energy, Sanjay Suchak.
“We are excited to see these facilities come online and produce savings for the members and customers of CBEC, CVEC and Salem,” said Alice Wolfe, General Manager of BRPA. “Rising transmission and capacity costs have been a source of concern for some time, and these new battery projects will begin to control these costs.”
The five-project portfolio has been strategically deployed in rural Virginia at three CVEC locations, one with CBEC, and one with Salem. The projects are all approximately 5 MW and are distribution-connected, allowing them to provide benefits to both the distribution and transmission systems as well as the local communities.
“As Virginia continues to increase its appetite for energy storage, electric cooperatives and municipal utilities are uniquely positioned to lead on innovative applications that directly benefit their members,” said Mike Herbert, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Lightshift Energy. “By working together with BRPA, CVEC, CBEC, and Salem, this coordinated effort exemplifies how portfolios of distribution-connected storage can offer not only significant savings to the participating utilities, but also fast and cost-effective capacity during a time that the PJM market is scrambling to bring on new resources and keep electricity prices low.”
