Meanwhile, in Southern California, the nonprofit news site Canary Media reported that old gas-fired plants are being replaced by “power banks” called Nova.
It is expected to store “more electricity than all but one battery factory currently operating in the United States.”
Boasting 680 megawatts and 2,720 megawatt-hours, the $1 billion project shifts California's nation-leading solar generation to critical evening and night hours, bringing the state to the brink multiple times. It will help strengthen the power grid against heatwaves. In recent years…the town of Menifee has moved away from power plant emissions mixed in with the smog flowing from Los Angeles…and the power grid has been replaced with cleaner fuels that can ideally replace fossil fuels. capacity has increased. .
moreover, [the power bank] This represents a bold entry into the energy storage market for Calpine, which has long operated one of the nation's largest independent gas power plant fleets along with Vistra and NRG…Federal analysts said in 2024 They predict 2020 will be the biggest year ever for grid battery installations across the United States, and they highlighted Calpine's project as one of the single largest. The 620 megawatts the company plans to deliver this year represents more than 4% of the total new electricity expected to be added in the industry.
Many of these new grid batteries will be built in California, where the state will use available supplies to meet demand during production outages at large solar farms and keep pace with the electrification of vehicles and buildings. It needs all the electricity it can get. The Menifee Power Bank and other gigawatts worth of storage scheduled to come online this year in the state will provide much-needed reinforcement.
The company said it plans a “portfolio” of 2,000 megawatts of battery capacity in California.
But even this 680-megawatt project consists of a total of 1,096 battery containers housing 26,304 battery modules (or 3 million cells total), “all manufactured by Chinese battery giant BYD. said Robert Stewart, Calpine's electrical project manager. That's enough. It will provide enough electricity to power 680,000 households for four hours before the power goes out. ”
What's remarkable is how quickly the project came together. Construction began last August and is expected to reach full operating capacity of 510 megawatts over the summer, even as installation continues in other parts of the plant. To build a conventional gas plant of similar size, construction labor would have taken three to four years due to the complexity of the system and the many different trades it required, Stuart told Canary Media… Their speed and flexibility make batteries critical Solutions are needed as power companies across the country grapple with an expected surge in electricity demand unlike anything seen in decades.
The article notes that in 2013, California adopted a policy requiring electric utilities to store batteries, which led to “systematic policy and regulation and the construction of one of the nation's largest solar farms.” “Through this ripple effect, a 10-year project to launch an energy storage market has begun.” fleet. ”
These energy storage policies have succeeded in revitalizing the modern grid battery market. As of last year, California led the nation in more than 7 gigawatts of battery installations (though Texas is poised to overtake California in battery installations this year, despite the lack of a specific policy). ) efforts, but general tolerance for building energy projects )…California's interlocking climate regulations have effectively eliminated new gas construction. The state's energy roadmap instead calls for a massive expansion of battery capacity to shift abundant solar power to nighttime peaks.
“These trends, along with falling battery prices and the maturation of storage business models, prompted Calpine to also enter the battery business.”
