An 80-MWh lithium ion battery storage facilitiy, as a result of a collaboration between Southern California Edison (SCE) and Tesla, has been completed at the Mira Loma substation in California.
The Mira Loma Battery Storage Project can store up to 80 MWh, enough energy to power 15,000 homes for four hours. Credit: Ernesto Sanchez
SCE selected Tesla in a competitive bid in September 2016 and the project was completed by the end of the year. The battery storage contains two 10-MW systems, each containing 198 Tesla Powerpacks and 24 inverters. The modular system allows it to be connected to two separate circuits at the Mira Loma substation.
“This project is part of our vision at Southern California Edison to take advantage of the wind and the sun, and operate a flexible grid that delivers clean energy to power our homes, our businesses and our vehicles,” said Kevin Payne, CEO of SCE. “Standing here today among these Tesla Powerpacks is a great reminder of how fast technology is changing the electric power industry and the opportunities that will come with it.”
The batteries can charge when there is more renewable energy than demand, and supply that energy to customers during peak hours. This enables greater use of clean energy technologies, such as residential solar, and will help California meet its energy and climate change goals.
“We are very excited to bring this site online,” said JB Straubel, Tesla chief technical officer. “Storage is quite a new thing … and this is a different breed of battery. This is the tip of the iceberg of how much storage we’ll see on the grid.”
The California Public Utilities Commission directed SCE last May to expedite the use of energy storage connected to the grid to mitigate for the loss of natural gas storage at Southern California Gas Company’s Aliso Canyon. The Mira Loma Battery Storage Facility was commissioned by the California Independent System Operator just 88 days after groundbreaking.
Swinerton Renewable Energy’s recently expanded energy storage division assisted with the installation of the Tesla Powerpacks and shared photos from the ribbon cutting event on Twitter.
Cutting the ribbon on the world’s largest battery facility at Mira Loma. We’re excited to build what’s next in energy storage! #builtbySRE pic.twitter.com/9mh5TWogdu
— Swinerton Renewable (@SwinertonSolar) January 31, 2017