US company General Electric will use lithium-ion batteries in the utility firm’s biggest project of its kind to date— a 30 MW energy storage system.
The firm is set to begin construction on the ESS in California’s Imperial Valley early next year, with completion due by Q3 2016.
The £38million contract is part of Coachella Energy Storage Partners (CESP) deal with the Imperial Irrigation District (IID).
GE will provide CESP with an integrated storage solution, which includes plant controls, inverters, transformers, switchgear and lithium-ion batteries under the terms of the deal.
The ESS will provide the IID network with solar ramping, frequency regulation, power balancing and black start capability for an adjacent gas turbine.
ZGlobal will operate the plant for the first 18 months, after which IID will assume control.
