One of the largest energy storage facilities in the world came online in December 2016 at Southern California Edison's Mira Loma substation in Ontario, Cali., according to the Los Angeles Times. The facility consists of 400 Tesla PowerPack lithium-ion batteries, and is being used to help supply peak demand.
The project was greenlit in September 2016 as a way to help offset the loss of the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility, which leaked methane for four months beginning in October 2015.
Additional energy storage projects in the state are adding 77.5 megawatts of energy storage to the state’s electricity grid, says the Los Angeles Times.
Until fairly recently, battery storage has been too costly to be a practical solution to the intermittency of renewable sources or the need for additional peak demand supply. However, the technology has matured and several battery technologies are on the market, both for utility-scale deployment and for use on campuses or individual facilities.
This Building Operating Management article details some of the available battery storage technologies for commercial facilities. Lithium ion, such as the Tesla product, is one option. But flow systems, thermal storage, and other options are also available.
This Quick Read was submitted by Naomi Millán, senior editor of Building Operating Management magazine, naomi.millan@tradepress.com.
