Batteries briefly became the largest source of energy in California twice in the past week.
The first time – Tuesday last week around 8:10 p.m. PT, according to GridStatus.io – the batteries reached a record peak output of 6,177 megawatts. For about two hours, this made electricity generated earlier and stored in batteries the Golden State’s largest energy source, eclipsing real-time generation from natural gas, nuclear and renewable sources like wind and solar energy., and all other sources of energy.
The news was reported earlier by Renew Economy.
It happened again on Sunday evening, this time for a few hours around 7:10 p.m. PT, according to data from GridStatus.io. In this case, which broke Tuesday’s record, the batteries reached a maximum power of 6,458 megawatts.
Battery storage has become a key part of the drive to produce more electricity from renewable sources. By connecting huge rechargeable batteries to power grids, electric utilities can store energy generated during the day by solar panels and wind turbines.
Then they can distribute energy during later periods of high demand – think evenings, when people turn on appliances to cook dinner, turn on the television, or turn on the lights after dark.
California had about 6.6 gigawatts of battery storage as of last October, the state energy commission said. By 2045, state officials want all of California’s electricity to come from carbon-free sources, a goal that will require about 52 gigawatts of battery storage, Renew Economy reported.
California isn’t the only state where battery storage is growing rapidly. Oil-rich Texas rivals California in battery capacity and is expected to have 30 gigawatts of storage by the end of this decade, Business Insider reported last year.
businessinsider
