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Los Angeles Wants To Use The Hoover Dam As A Giant Battery. The Hurdles Could Be More Historical Than Technical

/in , /by /The Conversationby Anthony F. Arrigo

Los Angeles is looking into whether it should spend an estimated US$3 billion on a massive, 20-mile underground pumped hydropower storage system that would be connected to the iconic Hoover Dam on the Colorado River outside of Las Vegas. If it does get built, this system would essentially serve as a giant battery to store power. Having written a book about the aggressive propaganda program behind the Hoover Dam’s construction in the 1920s and 1930s, I can say that the technical and financial challenges of this plan are sure to pale in comparison to the legal and political roadblocks that will have to be overcome.

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OPINION: California’s Energy Future: Are We Ready For 100?

/in , /by /Capitol Weekly (Sacramento)by Patrick Hayes

Imagine a California powered solely by renewable energy – it may be within reach as the California Legislature considers Senate Bill 100, which would put the state on the path towards 100% fossil-fuel free electricity by 2045. On Tuesday, the bill passed the state Assembly, and it now heads to the state Senate for a final vote before reaching Gov. Brown’s desk by the end of the week. The likely passage of SB 100 has sparked a statewide debate around one question: Are we ready for 100?

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California Assembly Advances 100% Clean Energy Bill

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Liam Dillon

California would set some of the nation’s strongest clean energy goals under legislation that cleared a key vote in the Assembly on Tuesday, bringing the state a step closer to ending its reliance on fossil fuels by phasing out their use to generate electricity. The bill, which would require California to obtain 100% of its power from clean sources by 2045, has been debated by lawmakers for nearly two years as it faced cost and feasibility concerns. This week, high-profile state and national politicians gave the cause a push by arguing the plan would strengthen California’s leadership on the environment.

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OPINION: If Trump Wants Coal, He Can Have It. But California Must Commit To 100 Percent Clean Energy

/in , /by /The Sacramento Bee

By most measures, California is way ahead of the rest of the country when it comes to fighting climate change. We have some of the strictest environmental regulations, more zero-emission cars on the road than any other state and, as of July, are four years ahead of our self-imposed goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to levels not seen since the 1990s. But if this week has proven anything, it’s that now is not the time to rest on our laurels.

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In The California Desert, A Farm Baron Is Building A Water And Energy Empire

/in , /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Sammy Roth

Far from the highways of Los Angeles and the shipyards of San Diego, in California’s southeastern corner, nearly half a million acres of lush green farmland unfold in the middle of the bone-dry Sonoran Desert. Sprawling fields of lettuce and sugar beets and onions, irrigated by water from the Colorado River, brush up against the U.S-Mexico border in a region once known as the Valley of Death but today called the Imperial Valley. A few hundred landowning families dominate the Imperial Valley and its lucrative agriculture industry, which produces much of America’s winter vegetables.

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Los Angeles Utility Wants To Solve Energy Storage With The Hoover Dam

/in , /by /Next City (Philadelphia, Pa.)by Rachel Dovey

Clean energy storage is a billion-dollar problem — but Elon Musk aside, a number of technologists are eyeing existing infrastructure and wondering how it could, effectively, serve the function of a giant battery. Take the California utility proposal Next City reported on earlier this year. Because school buses operate on fixed schedules and sit idle during peak demand times, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. wants to study whether electric school buses can effectively store power from renewables, and then send that power back to the grid when necessary.

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OPINION: Why A Regional Power Grid Brings Energy Security

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Allan Zaremberg

Reliable energy infrastructure is a hallmark of a modern world, and affordable power is vital for economic development and social cohesion. Ensuring that electricity is both affordable and reliable are ultimately the responsibility of our state government leaders when they set the ground rules for how electricity is generated and how it is transmitted around the grid.

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Southern California’s Heat Wave Puts The Power Grid Under Pressure

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Rob Nikolewski and Ethan Millman

Summer’s first heat wave has Southern California utility officials and managers of the state’s electric grid working to make sure the power system doesn’t wilt. A high-pressure system is forecast to send temperatures as high as 118 in areas of Riverside County, and parts of the coast could hit 100 degrees this weekend. Cooler temperatures aren’t expected to return until the middle of next week.

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Irvine Ranch Water District Adds Tesla Powerpacks, Estimates Annual Savings Of $500,000

/in , /by /Clean Technicaby Kyle Field

The Irvine Water District and Michelson Capital announced the completion of the nation’s largest behind-the-meter energy storage project at the Irvine Ranch Water District’s (IRWD) Michelson Water Recycling Plant. The new 2.5MW/15MWh installation is a part of a distributed network of 11 energy storage installations at the water district’s recycling and pumping facilities that together total 7MW/34MWh. The new installation will store power when it is cheap, which the facility can use during peak hours when power is more expensive.

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SDG&E To Add Five New Battery Storage Facilities

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Rob Nikolewski

In California’s quest to blend more renewable energy sources into the power grid, energy storage has repeatedly become one of the answers the state’s policymakers have turned to. Late last week, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved a proposal from San Diego Gas & Electric to build five new energy storage projects, each using lithium-ion battery technology, at facilities in San Diego, Poway, Escondido, Fallbrook and San Juan Capistrano. The projects will total 83.5 megawatts — enough to power about 55,000 homes for four hours.

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