The hottest days this summer pushed California’s power grid to its limit. People were asked multiple days to conserve energy to avoid rolling blackouts.
It worked… with a little help.
Like from the giant batteries sitting in neighborhoods around San Diego and the state. One of those batteries, the Kearny Energy Storage Facility, went online less than six months ago.
“We came through successfully because of assets like these,” smiled Miguel Romero, SDG&E’s Vice President of Energy Innovation.
The batteries are rechargeable and can be tapped into when the system hits its limit as it did during a recent heat wave around Labor Day.
In 2020, there was only enough battery storage in California for roughly 250 megawatts. That’s enough power for around 162,000 homes.
“Fast forward two years,” paused Romero. “The Independent System Operator had at…