SDG&E and AES Energy Unveil Large Lithium Ion Battery Storage Installation
AES Energy Storage, a subsidiary of The AES Corporation, showcased two new Advancion battery-based energy storage sites, totaling 37.5 megawatts (MW), in partnership with San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E). One of the sites "“ located at a SDG&E substation in Escondido, California "“ hosts a 30 MW, four-hour duration energy storage project, representing the world's largest lithium ion battery-based energy storage installation, 50 percent larger than the next largest installation. Both SDG&E sites join more than 200 MW of installed Advancion battery storage capacity deployed around the world.
In July 2016, SDG&E fast-tracked energy storage projects to enhance regional grid reliability and selected Advancion 4, AES' fourth generation battery-based energy storage platform. Already a leader in sourcing renewable energy for its customers with more than a third of its supplied energy drawn from wind and solar, SDG&E accelerated the deployment of battery-based energy storage to improve reliability and allow integration of greater amounts of renewable energy moving forward.
Advancion is the world's most proven energy storage platform, with more than 3.5 million megawatt-hours of delivered service and 436 MW in operation, construction or late stage development across seven countries and four continents. Designed for rapid deployment, AES delivered and interconnected SDG&E's Advancion arrays in six months, demonstrating energy storage's flexibility as a resource for utilities challenged to bring on new system capacity quickly.
The scale and long battery duration of the project signals a new era for storage being deployed as flexible capacity, addressing reliability issues that had previously been the domain of traditional fossil fuel-based resources like natural gas peaking power plants.
"California has created the launchpad for energy storage adoption on a global scale," said John Zahurancik, President, AES Energy Storage. "By prioritizing storage to address real system needs today, SDG&E is leading the way, creating a sustainable model that others can follow to achieve a clean, unbreakable grid."
AES opened up the Advancion platform in 2015 to direct ownership by utilities, developers and commercial customers. SDG&E's purchase of Advancion further demonstrates its commitment to leveraging proven and innovative technologies, both to meet its clean energy and carbon emission goals and to contribute to California's leadership in transforming its electric grid to ensure clean, reliable power for customers.
