The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has approved 497MW of energy storage systems purchased by Southern California Edison (SCE), which will be commissioned between August 2023 and June 2024.
CPUC has signed a total of 5 contracts for battery energy storage systems with a nominal power of 497MW and a total capacity of 1988MWh. The duration of each system is 4 hours.
These stand-alone lithium-ion battery energy storage systems are procured by SCE through a "fast-track" process for a period of 15 to 20 years, ensuring that they can be put into operation before the planned deadline.
Last summer, the CPUC ordered the state's three major utilities to procure and deliver 11,500MW of clean electricity capacity between 2023 and 2026. The five battery storage projects will help SCE achieve the capacity it needs to complete.
CAISO approved 3GW of battery storage to connect to its grid in April this year, and these units are now shifting up to 6GWh of energy per day from low-demand, low-price periods in the morning to peak high-price periods, but the power source is mostly natural gas rather than renewable energy.
Buying and selling electric energy arbitrage in the market is now a major function of battery storage projects in the state, which has a small market for frequency regulation. Some utilities use battery storage units to provide services to customers who have sufficient power resource requirements. CAISO's plan is to require these utilities to maintain a certain capacity margin at all times.
Another California utility, SDG&E, recently submitted its budget proposal to the CPUC for 2024-2027, which includes some planned energy storage investments. It said it would invest money to modernize the grid with various technologies, integrate renewable energy, and develop infrastructure such as energy storage and electric vehicle charging.
It also calls for greater installation of utility-scale battery storage in some areas, maximizing the use of photovoltaics, providing more reliable services to customers, and upgrading microgrids in areas with battery storage units.
