The 131MW Westside Canal project, located in Imperial Valley, is the largest storage asset in the energy delivery company’s utility-owned energy storage portfolio, and 40MW Fallbrook project in Northern San Diego is the second largest in its portfolio
Aerial Photo of the Westside Canal Energy Storage Project. (Credit: Sempra)
San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), a natural gas and electricity provider owned by Sempra, has completed two utility-owned energy storage facilities, with a combined capacity of 171MW.
The 131MW Westside Canal project is located in Imperial Valley, which hosts several solar, wind, and geothermal generation facilities, and the 40MW Fallbrook project in Northern San Diego.
The Westside Canal is the largest storage asset in the energy delivery company’s utility-owned energy storage portfolio, and Fallbrook is the second largest in its portfolio.
SDG&E said that the two projects, with the potential to power almost 130,000 homes for four hours, will help strengthen the summer grid reliability and advance California’s clean energy goal.
The assets will be a part of the energy markets managed by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), which will store and dispatch clean energy to meet the electricity demand.
With the addition of new facilities, the company’s energy storage portfolio is expected to reach 345MW of power capacity by the end of the year.
CAISO president and CEO Elliot Mainzer said: “With our state experiencing more frequent climate extremes such as record heat waves and droughts, it is essential to invest in innovations like energy storage to make sure we can continue to power the world’s 4th largest economy reliably.
“The rapid growth of energy storage in California in recent years gives me optimism about our state’s future and its capacity to respond to climate change.”
According to the company, wind and solar generation capacity has soared in California, in recent years, and requires scale back of energy production to keep the grid balanced.
Also, California has experienced repeated grid emergencies during record heat waves, which pushed the grid to the brink due to energy demand exceeding supply.
Westside Canal facility, which commenced commercial operation last month, features more than 800 cubes of stacked lithium-ion batteries, covering around 16 acres of land.
The Fallbrook energy storage project, which began commercial operation in May, also features stacks of lithium-ion batteries tightly packed inside metal cubes.
Both the facilities are equipped with safety features, remote monitoring, and automation technologies, and will automatically shut down smoke or other anomalies are detected.
Furthermore, SDG&E has completed the projects following the 30MW Top Gun Energy Storage Facility in 2021, and the 20MW Kearny Energy Storage Facility in 2022.
SDG&E vice president of energy innovation Miguel Romero said: “The beauty of energy storage is it can help California solve two problems simultaneously.
“It can soak up surplus renewable energy during the day, so solar and wind farms don’t have to cut off production when demand on the grid is low.
“By extending the availability of clean energy to peak evening hours, energy storage can also help California achieve its clean energy goals by reducing reliance on conventional power plants to meet peak electricity demand.”