By Alex Morris, Executive Director
California’s clean energy transition shows no signs of slowing down. New developments demonstrate continued, steady progress for the Golden State to successfully reach its ambitious decarbonization goal, while also strengthening grid reliability and resilience heading into the challenging summer operating season.
Earlier this month, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) reported a new record for supply of renewable energy on the grid, reaching 97.6 percent of all generation. That level broke the previous record of 96.4 percent, set in late March. According to CAISO, the grid also set a historical solar peak of 13,628 megawatts (MW) on April 8 and a new record wind peak of 6,265 MW on March 4.
These large volumes of renewable energy — more than 15,000 MW of grid-connected solar power and nearly 8,000 MW of wind energy now fuels California’s grid, according to CAISO —must be integrated efficiently and effectively to support grid reliability. Energy storage allows renewable power to be captured when it is produced and dispatched later when it is needed. Additionally, energy storage reduces renewables curtailments by allowing the grid to dispatch renewable over-generation when electricity demand is high.
California added nearly 2 gigawatts of energy storage last year, a record amount, but will need to keep up this pace to meet the state’s decarbonization goals, as we discussed in a recent blog. The California Energy Storage Alliance (CESA) estimates California will need at least an additional 10,000 MW of new storage in the next decade.
Good news, then, that Pacific Gas & Electric announced last week the commissioning of its Elkhorn Battery, one of the world’s largest lithium-ion energy storage systems. The Tesla Megapack installation at its Moss Landing facility adds 182.5 MW of storage capacity to the grid and follows PG&E’s pledge earlier this year to deploy an additional incremental 1,600 MW of storage by mid-2024.
Californians have no time to spare. Global supply chain constraints are impeding the sourcing and delivery of critical materials, challenging procurement timelines for approved projects. Another hot, dry summer may be in store, threatening a repeat of last summer’s prolonged heatwave, drought conditions, and the potential of rolling blackouts that was all too real last July. Look no further than CAISO’s engrossing new video — Energy storage truly did “come of age” last year.
A vibrant, growing storage industry is and will continue to play an essential role in advancing California’s clean energy transition. At our annual Market Development Forum last month, CESA hosted more than 200 guests from across the industry ecosystem to cohere around key action areas to break down barriers inhibiting even more rapid adoption of storage. Alongside the work of our 100+ members, CESA will continue to underline the value energy storage plays in supporting California’s clean energy transition and in protecting the health and well-being of the state’s 40 million residents.