The Pacific Gas & Electric Company has expanded its battery storage portfolio for 2022 and 2023 with six projects totaling up to 387 MW of capacity, the company announced last Wednesday.
All the projects are intended to be integrated to the existing clean energy and renewable generation assets of the company, as it will ensure the reliability and effectiveness of the U.S. grid.
As to now, the projects are awaiting the approval by the California Public Utilities Commission, as they emanate from the 2019’s procurement decision, in which the Commission takes a number of steps to address further integration of renewables to the state’s grid.
CPUC’s decision identified potential electric reliability issues that will be tackled from the summer of 2021; in this regard, the Commission authorized PG&E to procure at least 716,9 MW of further capacity to come online in August 2021 and August 2023.
“The next few years will be pivotal for the deployment and integration of utility-scale battery energy storage onto the grid. PG&E has awarded contracts for energy storage projects totaling more than 1,000 MW of capacity to be deployed through 2023,” said Fong Wan, senior vice president of energy policy of PG&E.
Recommended for you: Invesco ESG funds: with the strongest returns in 2020
Six battery storage projects for California
In the statement, Wan added that all the projects “contribute to meeting California’s ambitious clean energy goals while ensuring grid efficiency and reliability; reducing the need to build additional fossil fuel generation plants, and keeping customer costs affordable.”
The projects are separated by date, as the first three ones will come online by August 2002; these are: Nexus Renewables, with a 15-year agreement for a fleet of behind-the-meter battery storage resources, with a total of 27 MW of power.
Lancaster Battery Storage’s 15-year agreement for a 127 MW transmission-connected battery storage for Lancaster, California; and the LeConte Energy Storage’s 15-year project for 40 MW transmission-connected battery, located in Calexico, California.
The remaining projects would come online in 2023, and these are; a project by NextEra subsidiary North Central Valley Energy Storage, for a transmission-connected battery of 132 MW of capacity in Linden, California; and two projects by Daggett Solar Power with 15 MW and 46 MW batteries for Daggett, California.