You’ll be hearing about “world’s largest” lithium-ion battery projects frequently during 2017 as more big energy storage facilities are completed during what’s expected to be a bumper year.
The latest to claim the title is San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E).
Unveiled late last week, the 30 megawatt facility is capable of storing up to 120 megawatt hours of electricity, enough to provide for the energy needs of 20,000 customers for four hours. 400,000 battery cells have been placed in 20,000 modules and housed in 24 containers at the site in San Diego County.
Another smaller 7.5 MW installation was built in El Cajon for SDG&E, also by AES Energy Storage.
“These two projects, including the world’s largest advanced energy storage site, are the latest proof of energy storage’s capacity to scale up and solve our most pressing grid issues in a short period,” said John Zahurancik, AES Energy Storage president.
SDG&E says the projects will help support more renewable energy sourced electricity provision to customers and continue its record as the most reliable utility in the region.
“San Diego County is a community of leadership and innovation, so it is only fitting that this community should receive the benefit of this unique project,” said Scott Drury, SDG&E’s president. ” These projects affirm our commitment to deliver clean energy to customers and to provide a more reliable power supply to our electric grid when it is most needed.”
With the battery storage facility completed, SDG&E isn’t resting on its laurels. The company expects to develop or interconnect more than 330 megawatts of energy storage on its system by 2030.
SDG&E is a regulated public utility that provides energy service to 3.6 million people in San Diego and southern Orange counties. The company was the first to meet California’s goal of delivering 33 percent of energy from renewable sources by 2020.
As we mentioned last month, 2017 will be a big year for big battery projects. In January, A 20 megawatt energy storage project was unveiled in Southern California and another 20MW facility based on the new Tesla Powerpack 2 was also completed in the state.
