Southern Power has awarded Mitsubishi Power Americas Inc. and Powin LLC an order for two utility-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) projects totaling 640 megawatt hours (MWh). These projects will enhance California’s grid reliability with additional flexible resource capacity for integrating intermittent renewable energy into the grid, the company said.
The BESS projects are among the first collocated solar and storage projects in California and represent some of the largest retrofits of solar and storage in North America to date. They are designed for a 20-year life cycle and four hours of energy storage duration. Southern Power’s 205-MW Garland Solar Facility in Kern County will add 88 MW and 352 MWh of energy storage, and its 204-MW Tranquillity Solar Facility in Fresno County will add 72 MW and 288 MWh. Both projects are scheduled to come online in 2021.
The energy storage projects will be owned in partnership with AIP Management and Global Atlantic Financial Group, both of which have existing ownership interests in the Garland and Tranquillity solar facilities that went into commercial operation in 2016. Southern Power operates the solar projects and will be responsible for operating the energy storage projects upon completion.
Tom Cornell, senior vice president of Mitsubishi Power’s NEXT said, “Mitsubishi Power is excited to leverage our network of capabilities in the Americas and globally to bring low-carbon solutions to Southern Power. These battery energy storage projects, which will use lithium iron phosphate technology, fit within our vision to provide short- and long-term energy storage solutions that include lithium ion, hydrogen, and other emerging storage technologies. We are proud to provide Southern Power with an energy storage solution to enhance the reliability of California’s electric power grid. Together with our customers and partners, we are creating a change in power.”
Southern Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company, is a wholesale energy provider with more than 11,864 MW of generating capacity in Alabama, California, Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Maine, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, and Washington.
Headquartered in Lake Mary, Florida, Mitsubishi Power Americas Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. Its power generation solutions include natural gas, steam, aero-derivative, geothermal, distributed renewable technologies, environmental controls, and services. Energy storage solutions include green hydrogen and battery energy storage systems.
Powin LLC designs and manufactures scalable battery energy storage solutions. Headquartered in Tualatin, Oregon, Powin has built over 600 MWh of systems, supporting 54 projects in 10 states and 8 countries.
