How large batteries are making California’s energy grid stronger, and lowering the chance of blackouts throughout warmth waves – TechnoNews

4 years in the past this week, California’s energy grid was so strained by a warmth wave that rolling blackouts hit a whole bunch of 1000’s of residents over two days. It almost occurred once more two years in the past, when state officers issued 11 “flex alerts” asking companies and owners to voluntarily scale back electrical energy use to keep away from energy disruptions.

However this 12 months when a report warmth wave scorched the state over three weeks from mid-June to July—sending temperatures throughout the Bay Space and the Central Valley hovering over 110 levels—there was loads of energy. No warnings. No shortages. No flex alerts.

An enormous a part of the rationale, consultants say, is a increase within the building of large battery initiatives.

California’s high-tech battery facilities, constructed with 1000’s of lithium-ion batteries just like the batteries in cell telephones and electrical automobiles, are fixing the primary shortcoming of the push for extra renewable vitality: the truth that the solar would not shine at night time.

Battery storage has elevated seven-fold previously 5 years in California, from 1,474 megawatts in 2020 to 10,383 megawatts now. A megawatt is sufficient electrical energy to run 750 houses.

Earlier than, when the solar went down each summer season night, large photo voltaic farms stopped producing electrical energy, typically resulting in energy shortages statewide within the early night. Now, the rising variety of battery storage vegetation throughout the state can retailer that solar energy throughout the day when it’s plentiful.

The battery storage vegetation then launch it again to the facility grid within the night because the solar goes down, however sizzling climate retains electrical energy demand excessive as a result of hundreds of thousands of Californians are operating air conditioners.

“Think of it like an energy bank account,” mentioned Elliott Mainzer, president and CEO of California Impartial System Operator, an company in Folsom that manages the state’s energy grid. “In the middle of the day, you are making big deposits. At the end of the day, we withdraw from that account.”

Since 2020, corporations in California have constructed extra large-scale battery storage initiatives than anywhere on the earth besides China. 5 years in the past there have been 36 such vegetation within the state. As we speak there are 175, with dozens extra deliberate or underneath building.

“It’s definitely been a game changer in improving reliability,” Mainzer mentioned.

The shift has taken many individuals without warning.

“These facilities are not sexy. They are not visible,” mentioned David Hochschild, chairman of the California Vitality Fee. “They are out of view. The footprint is very small. They are out of sight, but not out of mind.”

“They have been the difference maker,” he added. “They are the reason we haven’t had flex alerts. These storage facilities have provided an incredible cushion.”

Lots of the largest battery vegetation are within the Southern California desert, close to Palm Springs, Blythe and Lancaster. However two of the most important are in Monterey County, situated on the location of the previous PG&E Moss Touchdown Energy Plant.

That pure gas-fired plant, in-built 1950 and well-known for its two 500-foot-tall concrete smokestacks, is now house to a 750-megawatt battery storage plant owned by Vistra, a Texas firm, and a 182-megawatt plant owned by PG&E. They’re two of the biggest such vegetation on the earth. Vistra says its plant is the world’s largest.

The PG&E plant has 256 Tesla “Megapack” items. The gleaming white metal containers, every in regards to the dimension of a delivery container and weighing 56,000 kilos, had been constructed at Tesla’s Gigafactory close to Reno. Organized in neat rows and sitting on concrete pads, they’re cooled by followers that hum within the background. The battery storage plant opened in 2022, and its storage gives sufficient electrical energy for 136,000 houses.

“This is a strategic location to connect to the grid,” mentioned PG&E spokesman Paul Doherty throughout a go to Thursday. “All of the wires and substations are here. And there’s room to expand.”

Tesla opened a brand new battery manufacturing unit in Lathrop, south of Stockton, in 2022 that may produce about 13,000 Megapacks per 12 months.

However the know-how just isn’t with out controversy.

Fires broke out on the Vistra plant on Sept. 4, 2021, and Feb 14, 2022. Investigations confirmed that they had been brought on by a malfunction in a hearth sprinkler system, which launched water and prompted a number of of the items to overheat.

Then in September 2022, a hearth broke out on the PG&E Elkhorn battery plant. Police closed Freeway 1 for 12 hours. An investigation discovered it was brought on by an improperly put in vent protect on one of many 256 items, which allowed rainwater to get in and quick out the batteries. There have been no accidents to firefighters, PG&E staff or the general public.

Afterward, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a legislation requiring battery storage vegetation in California to attract up emergency response plans with native fireplace departments and improve fireplace security.

“Increasing the state’s battery storage is essential to reaching our clean energy goals,” mentioned State Sen. John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, who wrote the invoice. “But we also have to ensure that these facilities have safety systems in place to protect the health and well-being of workers and surrounding communities.”

Final month, after two fires occurred at San Diego County battery storage amenities, San Diego County supervisors required county officers to attract up tighter guidelines that will limit battery storage vegetation close to houses, colleges and different amenities. And when Vistra proposed constructing a big battery plant in Morro Bay, residents there put a measure on the November poll on whether or not to permit it.

Such fires are uncommon, mentioned Mark Jacobson, a professor of environmental engineering at Stanford College. And by serving to the state’s renewable vitality to continue to grow, they’re lowering the quantity of electrical energy generated from pure gasoline, which in flip reduces soot and smog.

“There are 12,000 people a year in California who die from air pollution,” Jacobson mentioned. “Nothing is perfect, but if we want energy, this is the best way to do it.”

In an effort to cut back greenhouse gasoline emissions and air air pollution, California political leaders have more and more mandated that large utilities like PG&E, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gasoline & Electrical produce increasingly more of their electrical energy from renewable vitality.

In 2018, former Gov. Jerry Brown signed a legislation requiring that 100% of the state’s electrical energy come from carbon-free energy like photo voltaic, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric and nuclear by 2045. As we speak the state is at 61%.

To make renewable vitality extra dependable, state regulators have required utilities to construct battery storage or signal contracts with corporations for it. Now the utilities are making a living by shopping for energy at low cost costs in the midst of the day when it’s plentiful and promoting it at the next value within the early night.

On some days this 12 months, battery energy has change into the biggest supply of electrical energy on California’s energy grid. On Wednesday, a report 8,320 megawatts of battery energy was on the grid at 7:35 p.m., the equal of 16 natural-gas-fired energy vegetation operating full energy, or 4 nuclear energy vegetation the dimensions of Diablo Canyon operating at peak capability.

“It’s happened so fast,” Jacobson, the Stanford professor, mentioned. “Only a couple of years ago nobody was talking about batteries on the grid. California really demonstrated for the first time how beneficial they can be.”

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