Arlington, VA: On July 5, the AES Corporation announced the closing of $2.0 billion in long-term, non-recourse financing for its 1,384 MW Southland repowering project in Southern California. The facility will consist of 1,284 MW of combined cycle gas-fired generation and 100 MW of four-hour duration, battery-based energy storage. It is the first-ever grid-scale battery-based energy storage project to receive a long-term PPA. The energy storage array substitutes for what would have typically been a new gas peaking plant in a congested area of a major city (Long Beach, California). The Alamitos Energy Center will serve as a flexible, peaking power plant alternative when it comes online.