Work has begun on what it said to be the biggest lithium-ion energy storage system, with the ground-breaking of a 100MW/400MWh project for the Alamitos Energy Center in Southern California.
The system by AES Alamitos, a subsidiary of AES Corporation, will use Advancion 5 batteries and control systems from Fluence— the joint venture between Siemens and AES.
The project will deliver flexibility and security of supply to power utility Southern California Edison, and is part of a larger modernisation and replacement project of the existing AES Alamitos Generating Station.
The facility’s main purpose is to deliver peak demand services, but it will also support grid modernisation and the integration of renewable energy as California chases an aggressive target of a 100% clean energy supply by 2045.
John Zahurancik, chief operating officer for Fluence, said: “Alamitos energy storage will stand as the first of a new generation of energy storage procured as stand-alone alternatives to new gas plants. It represents a whole new way to think about capacity and reliability.
“Its size, flexibility and long duration stand as a benchmark, and showcase energy storage as a mainstream option for peaking power and grid support.
The biggest lithium-ion ESS to date is the 100MW/129MWh Tesla Powerpack system paired with French utility Neoen’s Hornsdale wind farm near Jamestown, South Australia, in 2018.
However, last month Nevada power utility NV Energy and the Moapa Band of Paiutes Indians announced that solar and storage developer 8minute Solar Energy had been chosen to develop a 475MW-dc/300MW-ac solar plus 540MWh lithium-ion ESS.
If given the green light by the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada, construction of the Southern Bighorn Solar & Storage Center, 30 miles north of Las Vegas, will begin mid-2022 and be operational by the following year.
Meanwhile, NV Energy and its subsidiary Sierra Pacific Power Company have an anxious two-month wait to hear if they will be fined for not setting aside $10 million in incentives for energy storage systems in the US state.