Construction has begun on the world’s biggest utility-owned lithium-ion energy storage systems by US-based Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and Tesla.
Work on the 182.5MW/730MWh system at PG&E’s electric substation in Moss Landing, California, will be designed, constructed, and maintained by PG&E and Tesla, and will be owned and operated by the US utility.
PG&E aims to commission the system in the second quarter of 2021.
The system will include 256 Tesla 3MWh Megapack battery units, with the batteries and power conversion equipment housed in a single cabinet.
The BESS will have the capacity to store and dispatch energy to the grid for up to four hours during periods of high demand.
PG&E’s agreement with Tesla contains an upsize option that can increase the capacity of the system up to six hours or 1.1GWh total.
The system will deliver security of supply, and provide energy and ancillary service such as frequency response.
Fong Wan, senior vice president, Energy Policy and Procurement, PG&E, said: “The scale, purpose and flexibility of the Moss Landing Megapack system make it a landmark in the development and deployment of utility-scale batteries.”
PG&E forecasts the Moss Landing BESS will save more than $100 million over the 20-year life of the project.
The California Public Utilities Commission approved the BESS in November 2018 and by the Monterey County Planning commission in February 2020.
In February 2017, PG&E deployed its first lithium-ion energy storage system, featuring Tesla Powerpack technology, at its Browns Valley sub-station in California, US.
The system will dwarf Tesla’s biggest lithium-ion system in Australia despite the 100MW/129MWh Hornsdale Power Reserve system being made 50% bigger last November.
