Peninsula Clean Energy, a Community Choice Aggregation agency, has entered into a 15-year contract to exclusively obtain 45 MW of battery storage from a four-hour lithium-ion battery project being developed by Terra-Gen near Barstow in San Bernardino County, California.
The energy storage is part of a wider renovation of the current SEGS VIII solar thermal project, which is expected to be completed in June 2024. The storage will be connected to the existing connection facilities.
This initiative is Peninsula Clean Energy’s second stand-alone battery storage project contract signed this year. The first was 50 MW of four-hour lithium-ion storage from the Nova III facility in Riverside County beginning in August 2024.
The storage projects will give Peninsula Clean Energy the tools to meet the agency’s goal of 24/7 renewable energy generation by helping shift abundant solar energy into the evening and nighttime hours.
“Our priority is to secure sufficient, affordable and clean energy sources and at the same time ensure reliability for our customers,” says Peninsula Clean Energy CEO Jan Pepper. “Battery storage is a critical part of our strategy, and it allows us to lead among all utilities in demonstrating that it is possible to provide hourly renewable energy in a cost-effective manner.”
“The SEGS VIII project has a long history of supporting California’s journey toward clean and reliable electricity generation. The redevelopment of the project expands this effort by introducing new large-scale renewable energy sources and energy storage,” adds Terra-Gen CEO Jim Pagano.
Peninsula Clean Energy says it has aggressively sought to add renewable and storage resources while maintaining a 5% discount over what the agency’s customers in San Mateo County and the city of Los Banos would pay for generation services through PG&E.
