The California Independent System Operator has approved three reliability improvements for storage management that are set to take effect this summer when extreme heat could cause a spike in demand.
Amid other regulatory priorities, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chair Richard Glick would have the agency look into energy storage participation in wholesale markets via hybrid projects with wind and solar, he said on Tuesday during the CLEANPOWER 2022 conference in San Antonio, Texas.
Sprawled like a gigantic swimming pool atop a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan is an asphalt-and-clay pond holding enough water to produce electricity for 1.6 million households.
It’s part of the Ludington Pumped Storage Plant, which uses simple technology: Water is piped from a lower reservoir — the lake, in this case — to an upper one, then released downhill through supersized turbines.
Supporters call these systems “the world’s largest batteries” because they hold vast amounts of potential energy for use when needed for the power grid.
The hydropower industry considers pumped storage the best answer to a question hovering over the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy to address climate change: where to get power when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing.
(Editor’s Note: The San Diego County Water Authority and the City of San Diego are partnering on the proposed San Vicente Energy Storage Facility project. More information: www.sdcwa.org/projects/san-vicente-pumping-facilities/)
California is aiming to supply 100% of its electric retail sales with renewable and zero-carbon resources by 2045, a target that — along with the electrification of transportation and other sectors — is driving the need for rapid development of renewable resources and energy storage over the next couple of decades.
This build-out will also necessitate significant transmission additions to connect out-of-state energy, as well as other generation pockets, CAISO noted in the draft outlook. The system operator has a 10-year transmission planning process; however, given that transmission requires long lead times thanks to permitting processes and right-of-way acquisitions, it concluded that a longer-term blueprint is essential.
A portfolio of 44 battery storage systems across San Diego County aimed at adding more emissions-free energy to California’s electric grid is about to roll out, with one location in Chula Vista and another in El Cajon poised to break ground within the next month.
In 2016, California set a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. This is the most aggressive emissions reduction target in the United States. California Governor Gavin Newsom is directing California state agencies to accelerate the state’s progress toward its climate goals and is evaluating pathways for the state to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035.
Meeting these goals means a major shift in how electric power is generated and a greater reliance upon renewable sources, which, in turn, will lead to new kinds of investments, markets, and business practices.
One of the most promising pumped storage hydro solutions in California is the proposed 500-MW San Vicente Energy Storage Facility under consideration by a partnership of the San Diego County Water Authority and the City of San Diego.
Kern County, California, home to some of the most utility-scale solar development of any county in the nation, is set to feature another large array. Leeward Renewable Energy, Central Coast Community Energy, and Silicon Valley Clean Energy announced that construction has begun on the Rabbitbrush Solar project.
The project is being developed by Leeward Renewable Energy, with engineering, procurement, and construction provided by McCarthy Building Companies. Central Coast Community Energy and Silicon Valley Clean Energy both signed on to purchase generation from the project via 15-year power purchase agreements.
California’s energy future keeps pointing to Kern.
The latest 10-figure energy storage proposal in the county is a damlike “pumped hydro” project connected to the California Aqueduct that would store and release 3,500 gigawatt-hours of power per year on or near Tejon Ranch.
There’s no money yet for it or a similar proposal the same Los Angeles County engineering and development group disclosed in December that would be located next to Isabella Lake.
A Request for Proposals (RFP) has been issued for a 500MW pumped hydro energy storage project at a reservoir in California by the San Diego County Water Authority.
The authority supports water supplies for more than three million people, supplying wholesale to 24 retail water providers. It has decided to put its San Vicente Reservoir into dual use by turning it into an on-demand clean energy facility while it also supplies water.
With an $18 million boost from the state, a major energy storage project using hydroelectric power is taking shape at the San Vicente Reservoir, nestled in the Cuyamaca Mountains near Lakeside.
The long talked about San Vicente Energy Storage Facility — proposed by the city of San Diego and the San Diego County Water Authority — received the funding earlier this month when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the state budget. The $18 million will be spent to tackle some of the preliminary work needed to make the “pumped hydro” project a reality, such as initial design, environmental reviews and federal licensing.
“We believe the project is a critical component to meeting the state’s needs for integrating renewables” into the power grid, said Gary Bousquet, deputy director of engineering at the County Water Authority.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
