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and PG&E recently broke new ground energy storage system at Moss Landing (Monterey) in California which, when completed, will be the largest such facility in the world. The battery bank will be able to send up to 730 megawatt hours (MWh) of power to the grid at a maximum rate of 182.5 MW for up to four hours using 256 of Tesla’s lithium-ion (Li-ion). Megapacks. Tesla and PG&E will have the option to upgrade the capacity of Moss Landing to bring the system to 1.2 gigawatt hours, which could, according to to Tesla, power every household in San Francisco for six hours.

The facility is expected to be commissioned in 2021 and will be designed, built and maintained by the two companies, PG&E retaining ownership. The construction of the Moss Landing site and other mega-storage projects around the world heralds a massive transition from hydrocarbon-based power systems to renewable production supported by large-scale storage. According to Fong Wan, senior vice president of PG&E:

“Battery energy storage plays a critical role in improving the overall efficiency and reliability of the electricity grid, integrating renewable resources while reducing reliance on fossil fuel production. It can serve as an alternative to more expensive traditional cable solutions, resulting in lower overall costs for our customers… the scale, purpose and flexibility of the Moss Landing Megapack system make it a benchmark in development and the deployment of large-scale batteries.

If the Moss Landing site is upgraded to 1.2 GW capacity as planned, its storage capacity will be approximately ten times bigger as the Australian power station Hornsdale, the previous record holder and another Tesla project. The second largest Li-ion storage system in the world is the UK’s 50 MW Pelham Stocking Station.

The construction of the battery farm at Moss Landing promises improved flexibility for peak grid demand and load smoothing for variable generation from renewables. PG&E Predicts Tesla Megapack System Will Save Consumers More Than $ 100 million over the 20-year life of the project relative to expected local capacity needs and supply costs required in the absence of the facility.

At the heart of the new PG&E system is Tesla’s utility-size battery Megapack. Each unit has a capacity of 3 MWh and has the modular capacity to “stack” up to a site of 1 GWh. The battery requires 40% less space and 10 times fewer parts than current systems on the market. According to Tesla, this high-density modular battery can be installed 10 times faster than current systems. Tesla hopes its Megapacks will one day replace inefficient “speaker factories” in the network, which trigger during times of high demand at high costs to utilities and consumers.

Increased utility investment in renewable power generation and battery storage technologies portends a difficult path for gas and coal companies, and the question of how nuclear power would be competitive remains open. . Just this week, the oil and gas giant BP declared $ 16.8 billion quarterly loss, cutting its dividend in half. In response, the company announced a new “Green Shift” that would see its oil and gas production decrease by 40% over the next decade and its investments in renewables would increase tenfold over the same period. BP and PG&E are responding to increasing societal and market pressures related to climate change, including lower costs for storage and production of renewable energy. A massive evolution of the electrical industry is underway before our eyes.

With the help of Ali Plucinski