Columbia Energy Storage Project

First-of-its-kind energy storage project selected to receive federal grant

The Columbia Energy Storage Project was selected for a grant of up to $30 million from the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations to support the construction of a compressed carbon dioxide (CO₂) long-duration energy storage system at the site of the Columbia Energy Center.

 
The innovative project would be the first of its kind in the United States. The proposed 20-megawatt project would be capable of providing more than 10 hours of energy storage.
 
The added reliability and dispatchability provided by the project would help to further enable MGE's ongoing transition toward greater use of renewables. It also would help to manage long-term customer costs because projects like this one enable the partner utilities to store energy to help meet peak demand.
 
The project would use a closed-loop process either to create electricity or to store energy by transferring an element between its natural fluid or gas states. Through this revolutionary process, designed by Energy Dome, it would deliver electricity to the grid when it is needed or take electricity and store its energy when the grid has excess electricity.
 
Alliant Energy, WEC Energy Group and MGE co-own the Columbia Energy Center. Also partnering on this project are Shell Global Solutions U.S., Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), UW-Madison and Madison College.
 
The partners expect to submit an application to the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin in the first half of 2024. Pending regulatory approval, construction on the project could begin in 2025 with completion in 2026.
 
The Columbia Energy Storage Project would be built south of Portage in the Town of Pacific, near the current Columbia Energy Center. This site allows the use of existing electrical infrastructure while the partners work to advance the next generation of sustainable energy.