Giant Battery Storage in California

Moss Landing Giant Battery Storage Plant Is Back Online

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/21072022/inside-clean-ene…

This month, daily peaks of 2,000 megawatts have become ordinary, but the state’s batteries hit 2,000 megawatts for the first time just two months ago, on May 22, right around the time Moss Landing was working again after months of repairs and troubleshooting. (For perspective, 2,000 megawatts is about the capacity of a large coal, gas or nuclear power plant, so we’re still talking about a small share of the electricity supply.)

It was only a year ago that the state’s battery systems collectively hit their first peak of 1,000 megawatts, according to figures from the California Independent System Operator, the nonprofit that runs the grid covering most of the state.

“We’re relying on these batteries to basically store the excess energy from solar in the middle of the day, and then discharge later in the day when the solar is dropping off,” he said.

But batteries still have a long way to go to make a serious dent in the demand for gas. When battery use was peaking on July 9, natural gas power plants were providing more than 13,000 megawatts to the grid.

Jaak

Read the whole article to understand the benefits of electrical storage.

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