Power generation firm Vistra has confirmed it plans to further expand its Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility in Moss Landing, California.
The company has entered into a 15-year resource adequacy agreement with Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) for a new 350MW/1.4GWh battery system.
This would complement the existing 400MW/1,600MWh of energy storage capacity already at the site.
On 21 January, PG&E filed its application with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to approve the contract, with a decision expected within 180 days.
Building on a legacy
Last August, Vistra has completed the second phase of its record-breaking lithium-ion energy storage systems in Monterey County, US.
The 100MW expansion of the Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility brings the facility’s total capacity to 400MW/1.6GWh— the largest of its kind in the world.
The battery system is being used to bolster reliability to California’s grid using technology from LG Energy Solution.
Curt Morgan, chief executive officer at Vistra said: “This facility provides a solution California desperately needs and this expansion was able to come online at the right time, as the summer heat intensifies and demand for electricity is at its highest.
“The state’s laudable immense build-out of intermittent renewable power has both lowered emissions and presented a reliability challenge.
“Our Moss Landing battery system helps to fill the reliability gap, storing the excess daytime power so it doesn’t go to waste and then releasing it to the grid when it’s needed most.”
The project was announced 15 months ago, with construction started in September 2020.
Phase one of the project, a 300MW/1.2GWh system made up of more than 4,500 stacked battery racks or cabinets, was connected to the power grid and began operating on 11 December.
The site has the space to support even further expansion up to 1.5GW MW/6GWh using Vistra’s existing site infrastructure, including existing transmission lines and grid interconnection.
The 100-MW/400-MWh Phase II expansion is operating under a 10-year resource adequacy agreement with Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E). Phase I has a similar 20-year resource adequacy agreement with PG&E.
Earlier this month, Florida Power and Light’s (FP&L) announced its Manatee Energy Storage Center in Manatee County, Florida was 75% complete, with 100 of its 132 battery units installed and all 132 inverters in place.
When the Manatee site is completed and connected to the grid at the end of this year it will have capacity of 409MW/900MWh.
