Dive Brief:
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Powin Energy has signed a contract with San Diego Gas & Electric for a 6.5 MW, 26 MWh energy storage system in Escondido, Calif.
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Powin says it will use its scalable Stack140, a modular 140-kWh battery array, for the project.
- If approved by the California Public Utilities Commission, the project would be used to enhance electricity reliability and to help re-vitalize the surrounding community through infill development.
Dive Insight:
SDG&E has been one of the most active utilities in the country in deploying energy storage projects, especially after a mandate handed down by regulators following the Aliso Canyon methane leak in late 2015.
In April, the utility contracted for five battery storage projects totaling 83.5 MW. SDG&E will own two of those projects, totaling 70 MW, and the other three are being developed by Powin Energy, Enel Green Power North America, and Advanced Microgrid.
Under California’s energy storage mandate, SDG&E has to procure 165 MW of energy storage by 2020 and have the project online by 2024. But regulators have pushed the utility and Southern California Edison to expedite deployment in the wake of the Aliso Canyon methane leak that jeopardized the fuel supply for gas-fired generation.
So far, SDG&E has already deployed or contracted for 94 MW of storage resources in 20 projects, following the PUC's push to fasttrack deployment.
At the beginning of the year, Powin brought online a 2 MW, 8 MWh battery system in Irvine, Calif., that was put in place to ensure reliability in Southern California Edison’s service area. The project was brought online in less than six months.