Slate, a recently-completed large-scale California solar-plus-storage project. Image: Goldman Sachs Renewable Power.

Battery storage will be a valuable asset for enhancing and upgrading the electric transmission and distribution (T&D) system of California.  

The board of CAISO last week approved the California grid operator’s 10-Year Transmission Plan, which will upgrade the network and make it better able to accommodate renewable energy. 

As reported by our sister site PV Tech, resource requirements for decarbonising California’s energy system by 2045 and enhancing reliability of the electricity network demand significant increases in the amount of battery storage and different renewable energy technologies.

Identifying 23 separate transmission projects representing about US$2.9 billion of investment in expansion, upgrade and reinforcement, the transmission plan has been put together with California’s energy needs in mind. The state needs to add about 4,000MW of new resources each year over the next decade — four times more than the 1,000MW of additions expected and modelled for in CAISO’s previous 2020-2021 transmission plan. 

California is known as the global regional leading market for battery storage, driven largely by procurements through the state’s three big investor-owned utilities (IOUs) for Resource Adequacy — capacity to guarantee customers their lights will stay on. 

CAISO, the California Energy Commission and regulatory California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) are all aware the state will need dramatically more energy storage, as well as renewables, to decarbonise while replacing capacity from retiring fossil fuel and nuclear. 

The CPUC in February unanimously approved a US$49 billion plan to accommodate more than 25.5GW of new renewable energy and 14,751MW of battery storage by 2032. 

CAISO’s 10-year plan meanwhile models the different forecasted and required capacities of battery storage in each of the regions around its network.

In specific instances, battery storage is recommended as an alternative to grid upgrade projects. For instance 50MW/200MWh of BESS should be procured at a 115kV substation in Mesa to address a maintenance window for the network instead of carrying out a full transmission 230kV line upgrade project. 

The approved 10-year Transmission Plan can be found here on CAISO’s website.

CAISO’s 20-year Transmission Outlook, aimed at providing a framework for long-term planning, can be found here.

Interconnection: ‘the real challenge’ for California and CAISO

At present, getting interconnection agreements for battery storage projects in California is proving very difficult, Energy-Storage.news heard from Seth Hilton, a California-focused specialist renewable energy industry lawyer at legal firm Stoel Rives. 

CAISO is dealing with far more interconnection requests than it can deal with and has extended the timelines developers have to work with. 

“They can’t process the volume of interconnection requests along the timeline that’s provided for in their tariff. So that’s the real challenge. And California ISO has been looking at what some of the solutions are, but they have to give non-discriminatory access to the transmission system,” Hilton said. 

A good indicator of just how much lead times for BESS projects are impacted by the interconnection agreement process is that state governor Gavin Newsom’s emergency proclamation over energy issues last summer ordered the California Energy Commission to expedite permitting for clean energy projects, including energy storage. 

With permitting often cited as a reason for lengthening the project development process, it might be considered that this step would have been beneficial to the industry.

However, Seth Hilton said: “Not a single energy storage project took advantage of that expedited process that was set up by the Energy Commission — because of interconnection issues, which the Commission couldn’t deal with”.

“Even if you had expedited permitting at the Energy Commission, it didn’t solve the interconnection problem, which was really the the long lead time item and the issue which is the real challenge we’re dealing with in California.”

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Jamaica is seeking to fix water scarcity issues in the Kingston area, which is currently reliant on the Mona Reservoir. Image: CC.

Jamaica has received proposals from a consortium of local and international companies to implement a proposed pumped hydro electric storage (PHES) project.

Prime minister Andrew Holness told the parliament last week that an ‘unsolicited’ proposal had been received to implement the project, which has not yet been approved by the government.

The pumped hydro project involves pumping desalinated seawater into elevated reservoirs using solar power, then feeding that water back down through a hydroelectric power turbine into downstream reservoirs for household use. The project is primarily being presented as a way to fix water shortages in some regions.

It is widely reported the power generation could be up to 200MWh annually and Holness said the project, along with other proposals, could increase Jamaica’s proportion of renewable electricity generation to 50% from 13% today.

“The proposal is currently undergoing technical and due-diligence reviews. Subject to the satisfactory completion of those reviews, it is the intention of the Government to designated the project a Jamaica 60 National Development Project and enter into direct negotiations with the consortium, in order to fast-track its implementation,” he said, referring to this year being Jamaica’s 60th as an independent nation.

The country last made headlines in the energy storage world in 2019 when it commissioned a 24.5MW hybrid energy storage system comprising a lithium-ion battery energy storage system (BESS) as well as high-speed and low-speed flywheels, first announced in 2017.

That project is located next to a substation operated by Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS), the country’s sole electricity distributor, which called the wider microgrid project it is part of a “model for other countries in the Caribbean and beyond”.

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The proposed BESS would be more than double the size of the Victorian Big Battery, currently Australia’s largest BESS. Image: Victoria State government.

The state government of New South Wales (NSW) in Australia is opening up a competitive procurement process for Waratah Super Battery, a 700MW/1,400MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) project. 

The battery system will be built to increase electric transmission system capacity across the state, serving as a giant ‘shock absorber’ for the grid and allowing power lines to operate at higher capacity.

It is part of a plan to ease the network’s adaptation to life after the closure of Eraring coal power plant, a 2,880MW generation station that owner Origin Energy has proposed closing down in 2025. 

Integrated energy company Origin has said that retiring the plant will free up dozens of millions of dollars it spends on operating Eraring each year as well as aiding the company’s decarbonisation efforts.

Origin is itself building a separate 700MW BESS as well as aggressively expanding its virtual power plant (VPP) network to as much as 2GW to replace the coal plant’s lost capacity, as well as leaning on its fleet of gas plants to help balance the network as renewable energy penetration goes up.  

NSW’s government meanwhile issued a plan back in February to support workers and create new jobs after Eraring closes: investing AU$250 million (US$186.9 million) to boost locally manufactured content in clean energy technologies, build up the green hydrogen industry and fast-track the delivery of critical transmission upgrades.

The Waratah Super Battery will go towards providing reliable and affordable electricity, particularly as it will increase the transmission capacity across NSW to demand centre areas like Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong.

Transmission constraints prevent existing generation capacity being made available in those areas during peak times. Lines operate at strict limits below their capacity in case of shocks to the system, such as lightning strikes or bushfires. The BESS can therefore step in and instead act to absorb that shock, leaving the lines capable of carrying more electrons. 

NSW government said that its Energy Security Target policy provides a roadmap to ensuring reliability of electricity and that the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has said its post-Eraring plan, including the Waratah BESS, will be sufficient to meet the target’s standards. 

“The Waratah Super Battery will allow for more electricity to flow through the network, unlocking this excess capacity and supplying the families and businesses of NSW a reliable and stable energy supply,” NSW treasurer and energy minister Matt Kean said.

The battery project will need to be in service before the coal plant closes in 2025, with the government open to proposals on any suitable site, which could include state-owned land.

The Energy Corporation of NSW (EnergyCo) kicks off its launch of the procurement with a Market Forum event on 31 March, with the Expressions of Interest to be solicited from the beginning of April. 

The tender will be evaluated from August to October before award and contracts are announced in November. 

Interested parties can see the EnergyCo portal for the tender here.

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The KOREPlex facility in Arizona will open next year. Image: KORE Power.

KORE Power, a company building a lithium-ion gigafactory in Arizona, has launched a full service storage integrator division with the acquisition of an existing provider.

KORE has acquired Northern Reliability (NRI) and simultaneously launched KORE Solutions, which will operate as a full-service storage integrator division of the company, it said. NRI has deployed over 1,000 energy storage projects globally.

This makes KORE a vertically integrated energy solutions provider, with a lithium-ion gigafactory for electric vehicles and energy storage in development for opening in the second quarter of 2023. Dubbed KOREPlex, at full output the facility in Arizona will manufacture 12GWh of lithium-ion batteries for the electric vehicle (EV) and energy storage markets and employ 3,000 people.

The company said that KORE Solutions combines KORE Power’s manufacturing capabilities with NRI’s 50 years’ experience advancing energy storage solutions to offer customers end-to-end capabilities and service. It said that NRI has a robust US-made project pipeline.

KORE designs and makes energy storage systems as well as battery cells including both lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) and nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) chemistries, battery modules and packs in VDA format. It also has its own battery management system (BMS). It already has operations in China through a supply partner.

NRI CEO Jay Bellows will stay on as President of KORE Power and the deal adds 25 staff to KORE’s Waterbury, Vermont office. The two companies started working together two years ago on the Nomad Transportable Power project, which provides utility-scale mobile storage units integrated with a docking system.

KORE Power CEO Lindsay Gorrill wrote a guest blog on Energy-storage.news two years ago which you can read here.

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The Clark Road project, one of two solar + storage projects that Nexamp has activated in Massachusetts. Image: Nexamp.

Nexamp completes two colocated storage projects in Massachusetts

US community solar provider Nexamp has completed two energy storage projects colocated with solar in Massachusetts.

The two battery energy storage system (BESS) sites adjoin existing Nexamp community solar farms in and projects will provide critical frequency regulation and capacity services for the ISO New England market.

The first, Brockelman Road, has a 1.7MW solar park combined with a 1MW/2MWh BESS while Clark Road has 7.1 MW of solar power and a 3MW/6.1MWh BESS. Nexamp says these are located in a particularly-grid congested area in Central Masachussetts in a service area managed by UK operator National Grid.

Both participate in the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) Program and the Massachusetts Clean Peak Energy Standard program. The latter provides incentives to clean energy technologies that can supply electricity or reduce demand during seasonal peak demand periods.

The SMART programme incentivises households to invest in residential or community – I.e. utility-scale but ownership shared amongst local people – solar power by being guaranteed payment by their utility for 10 years for residential systems and 20 years for community ones.

Developer chosen for Canadian’ province’s first battery storage project

Saskpower, the main utility in the central Canadian province of Saskatchewan, has chosen Quebec-based power solutions provider On Power to build its first BESS.

On Power will build Saskatchewan’s first ever utility-scale BESS totalling 20MW/20MWh of capacity in northeast Regina, the province’s largest city. Construction will begin this spring and be completed in 2023.

It will cost an estimated CA$26 million (US$20.7 million) and will be funded in part by the Government of Canada through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.

The facility will balance the power system and support the integration of renewable energy sources like wind and solar into the Saskatchewanian grid, Saskpower said.

The Regina facility will also serve as an opportunity for SaskPower to gain experience operating and maintaining BESS projects, the company said.

Greenko bags another deal for pumped hydro

Indian renewables firm Greenko Group’s pumped hydro storage capacity will flatten out the intermittent generation of a new 975MW renewable energy project in India being developed by Greenko and metals giant ArcelorMittal.

The two companies are developing a US$600 million wind and solar project in Andhra Pradesh which will provide 250MW of power to ArcelorMittal’s Hazira steel plant under a power purchase agreement (PPA).

Greenko will use its nearby pumped hydro project to ensure the PPA delivers a consistent supply of power to the plant though has not revealed more details.

Last month, it tied up with fellow independent power producer (IPP) Ayana to deliver round-the-clock renewable power to customers. Greenko is bringing 6GW of power to that deal with 1.5GW being PHES. According to reports, a similar deal has been signed with Adani.

Greenko Group claims to be the world’s largest energy storage company and one of the largest clean energy companies globally. It has 30GWh of ‘low-cost’ storage capacity under construction as part of its plan to develop as much as 100GWh of storage.

Its ‘low cost’ claim has some merit. A few years ago, it won a government tender for the Pinnapuram Pumped Storage Project at a tariff of US$0.054 per kWh, which was considered the lowest cost solar-plus-storage project proposal in the world.

It achieved a US$5.75 billion valuation in 2020 when a Japanese investment firm ORIX injected US$1 billion in equity.

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Hanwha Solutions, the Korean energy-to-material company that owns energy solutions provider Q CELLS, has become the largest shareholder of REC Silicon, a major U.S. manufacturer of polysilicon, the key raw material used to produce solar panels. Moving forward, Hanwha intends to implement a multi-phase, multi-billion-dollar investment plan across the full solar value chain from, polysilicon to solar modules.

Following its initial $160 million acquisition to acquire a 16.67% stake in REC Silicon in January 2022, Hanwha will now become the largest shareholder of REC Silicon by acquiring an additional 4.67% stake from Aker Horizons, a sustainability investment firm that had been co-owner of REC Silicon with

Hanwha Solutions. The deal is valued at around $44 million.

“Our commitment to the U.S. is more serious than ever before,” says Justin Lee, CEO of Q CELLS. “We plan to make investments to secure capabilities across the entire solar supply chain, with the goal of supplying our partners with ‘Made in America’ products that will help the U.S. regain its leadership in clean energy solutions.”

REC Silicon operates two polysilicon manufacturing facilities in the U.S. in Moses Lake, Wash. and Butte, Mont. Their combined annual production capacity totals 18,000 metric tons (MT), including 16,000 MT of granular, solar grade polysilicon at Moses Lake and 2,000 MT of electronic grade polysilicon at Butte.

Using hydropower-based clean energy, REC Silicon produces low-carbon polysilicon without emitting greenhouse gases. Compared to carbon-heavy polysilicon manufactured overseas that often relies on coal power, REC Silicon’s “clean polysilicon” is expected to draw more demand in the coming years as international scrutiny over industrial emissions and carbon footprints grows.

Besides solar grade polysilicon, REC Silicon also manufactures other materials such as electronic grade silicon and silane gas, which are essential for producing hi-tech devices including semiconductors, smartphones, flat screen televisions, laptops and hybrid electric vehicles.

“Increasing energy market turbulence tells us why securing key raw material production is so critical,” comments a Hanwha Solutions spokesperson. “Given upward pressure on oil prices and scrutiny over the environmentally damaging impacts from fossil fuels, we believe that strengthening the renewable-based energy supply chain is important – and producing low-carbon solar material is a good starting point to achieve the goal.”

Currently, Hanwha operates a module production facility in the U.S. through its solar panel business unit, Q CELLS. The Georgia-based factory can produce 1.7 GW of solar modules per year.

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US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm speaks during the visit to West Virginia alongside Senator Joe Manchin. Image: Joe Manchin’s office.

A newly-announced battery gigafactory in the US from startup SPARKZ will make batteries suitable for grid storage and will be built in the heart of Appalachian coal county in West Virginia. 

The official announcement was made last Friday during a visit to several sites in the US state by US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm and Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland.

Together with West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, they unveiled various measures aimed at reinvigorating the local economy and retraining and retooling the workforce away from fossil fuels.

“Appalachia lies at the heart of President Biden’s strategy for Building a Better America. DOE is making major investments in clean energy development and deployment through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to strengthen America’s energy security and independence, unleash Appalachia’s clean energy potential, and create high-quality jobs across this region,” Granholm said. 

US$5 million funding for an initiative to develop a US battery supply chain workforce was probably the biggest announcement made on the policy front: the Department of Energy’s initiative seeks to create a “coherent national approach” to this issue, it said. 

The DOE will support training pilot programmes to grow unionised and well-paid labour in the energy and automotive industries, convene with industry and labour leaders and coordinate with the Li-Bridge public-private partnership to advance US lithium battery manufacturing, as well as with the Federal Consortium for Advanced Batteries (FCAB) which has been formed by government agencies.

Meanwhile SPARKZ, which claimed to have developed a cobalt-free, solid state lithium battery technology, said it will build its gigafactory in West Virginia and is now determining final site selection from two potential locations. 

The DOE said SPARKZ’ promised investment into workforce development and training will be significant, including a partnership with the United Mine Workers of America to directly train up West Virginians that transition into the “new energy economy”.

Although the company did not give an indication of the expected production capacity of the factory, it said 350 workers will be initially employed as it commercialises the battery tech and the factory should open during this year. 

Reducing the US reliance on China for nearly the whole lithium-ion battery value chain at present is considered a motivating factor behind the plant’s development. 

Little info is given on SPARKZ’ website about its technology, although the company got a US$2.6 million grant from the California Energy Commission in 2021 to develop it and a pilot production facility and R&D centre were opened in that state’s Silicon Valley near the beginning of this year. 

The batteries are lithium iron phosphate (LFP), but are claimed to be twice the energy density of comparable products made in China and the technology is exclusively licensed from six patents held by the DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, an R&D partner to the company. 

“Sparkz is re-engineering the battery supply chain by eliminating cobalt and setting our sights on making other battery components in America to end China’s dominance,” SPARKZ CEO Sanjiv Malhotra said. 

“The Biden Administration’s efforts to support economic revitalisation in energy communities is extremely important for workers and job creators like us as we scale to full commercial production. America’s clean energy future will reach its potential when we innovate and manufacture the next generation of energy storage domestically.”

Transitioning to an advanced clean energy economy

The US lags behind Europe in kickstarting its domestic battery manufacturing efforts, but it has been a stated priority of President Joe Biden and his colleagues for some time. Funding for close to US$3 billion to support this was announced recently, among other measures taken.

Another LFP-making startup, American Battery Factory, recently claimed that it could have a network of US gigafactories up and running within two years. 

Energy-Storage.news reported yesterday that market research group Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables forecasted for LFP to become the dominant cell chemistry for all applications including transport and grid storage over nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) by 2028.

Makers of lower range electric vehicles (EVs) are starting to favour LFP because of its cost, longer lifecycle and perceived safety advantages, while energy storage system integrators have been adopting it for longer, particularly as the stationary storage sector is not as sensitive to energy density concerns as the automotive trade. 

Politically-minded clean energy observers might take heart at Manchin enthusiastically welcoming the gigafactory and other energy and economic transition plans for his region and praising the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act which is enabling them. He also highlighted his support for a West Virginia Hydrogen Hub. 

The Senator has more recently been noticed as the obstructive force preventing Biden’s equally bipartisan Build Back Better legislation, which includes significant funding and tax measures to support clean energy, from passing.  

“At every stop, we heard from West Virginians who reminded us of the enormous sacrifices our coal communities have made to keep the lights on and power our nation,” Manchin said of Granholm and Haaland’s visit. 

“I was especially excited about the new initiatives and developments we announced to help diversify and strengthen the West Virginia economy by creating new and good-paying jobs and revitalising our communities.”

West Virginia governor Jim Justice on the other hand, who has spoken in the past of his will to keep coal plants running even if they no longer prove economical, went a little off-message at the event, with a comment that “harnessing the power of our coal, oil and natural gas, and by embracing an all-of-the-above energy strategy, West Virginia can help put America back on a pathway to energy independence”.

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Lisa Grow

Idaho Power will facilitate construction of a new 40 MW solar project in partnership with Micron. The project supports Micron’s goal to source 100% renewable energy for its U.S. operations by the end of 2025. As part of the contract, Idaho Power has asked the Idaho Public Utilities Commission (IPUC) to approve a power purchase agreement with Black Mesa Energy LLC, an oil and gas exploration and production company, to develop a dedicated solar facility for Micron’s renewable energy use. The new facility will be located near Micron’s Boise corporate headquarters and R&D center.

“Micron is taking a step toward our goal of reaching 100 percent renewable energy in the U.S. in 2025 by supporting solar development in our home state,” says Manish Bhatia, executive vice president of global operations at Micron. “This highlights our commitments to both our communities and the environment. We’re pleased to partner with Idaho Power and bring our efforts one step closer to meeting our sustainability goals.”

The project is one of the first under Idaho Power’s proposed Clean Energy Your Way – Construction offering, enabling large customers to partner with Idaho Power on new, dedicated renewable energy resources to meet business sustainability goals, while simultaneously adding new renewable resources to Idaho Power’s system. Idaho Power has established its own goal to provide 100% clean energy to its customers by 2045.

“This agreement with Micron is an example of the innovative thinking that will be required as we all move toward a clean energy future,” states Lisa Grow, Idaho Power’s president and CEO. “We are excited to be a part of Micron’s goal of sourcing 100 percent renewable energy for their U.S. operations, and we’re proud that they are starting that journey with us, right here in Idaho where they have been an important part of our community for more than four decades.”

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Beaufort Solar, another Capital Power Corp. solar project located in Chocowinity, N.C.

Capital Power Corp.’s first Canadian solar facility is now operational. The 41 MW Strathmore Solar facility, located on 320 acres of leased industrial land owned by the Town of Strathmore, was completed on schedule. It is fully contracted with 100% of the renewable energy generated and associated renewable energy credits sold to TELUS Communications under a 25-year power purchase agreement.

“We’re proud to complete our first ever Canadian solar facility on schedule and help Alberta further expand the clean energy capacity available to power our economy,” says Brian Vaasjo, president and CEO for Capital Power. “As we work to power a sustainable future for people and planet, this project represents another step on our pathway to net carbon neutrality by 2050 and we’re excited to partner with TELUS to support their decarbonization goals too.”

“At TELUS, a critical component of our energy supply strategy is to transition to the use of renewable energy,” states Scott Dutchak, vice president of corporate real estate, sustainability and environment at TELUS. “Capital Power’s Strathmore Solar facility is our fourth power purchase agreement in Alberta. Combined, these renewable energy sources will help us achieve 100 percent net carbon neutrality for our operations by 2030. Investing in renewable energy makes our business more sustainable by powering our network from cleaner energy sources and contributes to a more sustainable future for our planet and generations to come.”

Hon. Dale Nally, associate minister of natural gas and electricity for the government of Alberta, emphasizes how the partnership between Capital Power and Whispering Cedars Ranch demonstrates the possibilities of renewable energy and traditional industry collaborating on sustainable energy for the future. Capital Power will host 400-600 sheep from Whispering Cedars Ranch to graze at the Strathmore Solar facility, helping to sustainably manage the land on site to reduce fire hazards and help keep the facility well-maintained.

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A Dominion Energy solar PV project in Virginia. Image: Dominion Energy.

US utility company Dominion Energy Virginia has received approval from the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) to expand its portfolio of solar and energy storage projects.

The expansion includes 15 new projects to be brought forward by Dominion Energy, as well as 24 power purchase agreement (PPAs) with third-parties for a total capacity of 1GW.

Ed Baine, president of Dominion Energy Virginia, said: “This is another significant milestone in Virginia’s transition to energy independence.

“These projects will support thousands of good jobs and hundreds of millions in economic activity in communities across Virginia. This is a positive step forward for our customers, the environment and Virginia’s economy.”

The projects are expected to be completed between 2022 and 2023.

The company said the construction of the 15 projects is expected to generate US$880 million in economic benefits in the state as well as create more than 4,200 jobs.

The utility company had sent the proposal back in September 2021 to the SCC.

Clean energy policies enacted in Virginia in 2020 set a deployment target of 3.1GW of energy storage by 2035, the largest target of its type in the US until New York State doubled its previously-set 3GW target by 2030 to 6GW at the beginning of this year.

This story first appeared on PV Tech.

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