While the growth of utility-scale solar and wind projects has been impressive, they have had one major weakness. Although they pump thousands of megawatts of renewable power onto utilities’ electrical grids, they typically don’t store the electricity they produce so utilities can keep this power in reserve and use it when and where they need it.
That’s changing. Supported in part by an aggressive California Public Utilities Commission mandate requiring energy storage, the construction of utility-scale battery storage systems is on a record-setting pace. Several major new battery storage projects were announced over the past month by two of the larger players in the energy storage game — NextEra Energy Resources and Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), topping off what has already been a very busy year for energy storage. These two electric utilities have plans for energy storage systems with over 100 megawatts (MW) in capacity, which is much larger than any currently operating (see chart below for other large energy storage systems now in the pipeline).
On Aug. 31, NextEra Energy Resources announced energy storage projects in California that could nearly double the total installed capacity of battery storage available in the U.S. today, and on July 21, PG&E and Tesla began construction of a 182.5MW lithium-ion battery energy storage system (BESS) at PG&E’s Moss Landing electric substation in Monterey County, CA. A report at www.yahoo.com also said NextEra Energy Resources has a current pipeline of nearly 2,000 MW of shovel-ready or near shovel-ready battery energy storage projects in California.
A NextEra press release said the Florida-based utility plans to build nearly 700MW of fully-contracted battery storage projects in California before the end of 2022. The battery storage projects will be co-located at six existing NextEra Energy Resources solar projects and include several previously announced projects:
• 63MW at Blythe 110 Solar Energy Center
• 115MW at Blythe II Solar Energy
Center
• 115MW at Blythe III Solar Energy Center
• 230MW at the McCoy Solar Energy Center
• 110MW at the Arlington Solar Energy Center
• 65MW at the Yellow Pine Solar Energy Center
“California needs significant investment in battery storage to meet its aggressive clean energy goals,” said NextEra Energy Resources President and CEO John Ketchum in the press release. “NextEra Energy Resources is answering the call with nearly 700 MW of battery storage projects, representing a capital investment of nearly $800 million. Once these projects are operational by the end of 2022, Californians will benefit from more low-cost, emission-free solar energy during more hours of the day, as well as improved reliability across the regional electric grid.”
In addition to the fully-contracted projects expected to come online by the end of 2022, NextEra Energy Resources has a current pipeline of nearly 2,000MW of shovel-ready or near shovel-ready battery energy storage projects in California that could be deployed to help meet the energy storage capacity requirements put forth by the California Public Utilities Commission. To put that into perspective, the press release said the company’s planned and pipeline of battery storage projects in California alone is nearly twice the total installed capacity of battery storage in the U.S. today (approximately 1,350MW). The build out of the 2,000MW energy storage pipeline is contingent on obtaining long-term power purchase agreements for the projects, as well as the necessary regulatory approvals.
Since 1989, NextEra Energy Resources has developed, built, owned and operated wind, solar and energy storage facilities in California, representing more than $7 billion in investments. It’s a primary area of focus for the company, and renewable power contributes in a big way to its estimated 21,900MW of total net generating capacity. NextEra Energy Resources says together with its affiliated entities, it’s the world’s largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun and a world leader in battery storage.
The battery storage system being constructed at PG&E’s Moss Landing substation is being constructed with 256 Tesla Megapack battery units on 33 concrete slabs, according to the press release. Each unit houses batteries and power conversion equipment in a single cabinet. Transformers and switchgear will also be installed along with the Megapacks to connect energy stored in the batteries with the 115 kilovolt electric transmission system. PG&E aims to have the system energized in early 2021 and fully operational in the second quarter of 2021. Once operational, the Moss Landing substation system will be one of the largest utility-owned, lithium-ion battery energy storage systems in the world.
“Battery energy storage plays an integral role in enhancing overall electric grid efficiency and reliability, integrating renewable resources while reducing reliance on fossil fuel generation,” said Fong Wan, senior vice president, Energy Policy and Procurement, PG&E, in the press release. “It can serve as an alternative to more expensive, traditional wires solutions, resulting in lower overall costs for our customers.”
The battery energy storage system will have the capacity to store and dispatch up to 730 megawatt hours (MWh) of energy to the electrical grid at a maximum rate of 182.5MW for up to four hours during periods of high demand. PG&E’s agreement with Tesla contains an upsize option that can increase the capacity of the system up to six hours or 1.1-Gigawatt hour (GWh) total.
According to a post at www.forbes.com about the project, if the Moss Landing site is upgraded as anticipated, its storage capacity will be approximately 10 times larger than Australia’s Hornsdale Power station, the previous record holder and another Tesla project.
In promoting the gigwatt-sized capabilities of its Megapack projects on its website, Tesla said, “We took everything we know about battery technology to enable the world’s largest energy projects. A 1-GWh project provides record energy capacity — enough to power every home in San Francisco for six hours. Every Megapack arrives pre-assembled and pre-tested in one enclosure from our Gigafactory — including battery modules, bi-directional inverters, a thermal management system, an AC main breaker and controls. No assembly is required, all you need to do is connect Megapack’s AC output to your site wiring.”
