This is the Jan. 12, 2023, edition of Boiling Point, a weekly newsletter about climate change and the environment in California and the American West. Sign up here to get it in your inbox.What can store solar power for after dark, doesn’t require lithium and costs three-quarters of a billion dollars?The answer is deep beneath the ground in California’s San Joaquin Valley — or at least, it will be.A group of local governments announced Thursday it’s signed a 25-year, $775-million contract to buy power from what would be the world’s largest compressed-air energy storage project. The innovative technology could help California — and other states and nations — transition from planet-warming fossil fuels to renewable energy, without causing blackouts.“We need a diverse fleet of resources. This new technology is a critical component of that,” said Robert Shaw, chief…
What is compressed air storage? A clean energy solution coming to California
