California’s Public Utility Commission announced approval November 8 of four energy storage projects for Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) to replace retiring gas generators, including two batteries that would be the largest in the world.
The CPUC granted approval for a total of 567.5 MW / 2,270 MWh of storage, including a 300 MW / 1,200 MWh project from Vistra Energy and a 182.5 MW / 730 MWh project from Tesla that the utility would own. Those batteries, once completed, would be the two largest in service.
The CPUC directed PG&E to purchase the storage in January instead of approving new ratepayer-funded contracts for three gas plants in PG&E’s service area. Analysts told Utility Dive the cost of the batteries is likely cheaper than continuing to operate the plants.
Once completed, the Vistra and Tesla projects will be the largest in the world, according to the Department of Energy’s global database of energy storage projects.
Visit utilitydive.com for November 9 for the full story.