Golden State Today

California has approved a $42 million grant to International Electric Power for a long-duration energy storage project at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in San Diego County. The initiative aims to enhance the reliability of California's electricity grid and provide backup power to the base for up to 14 days during outages. This project is part of the state's Long-Duration Energy Storage Program, funded by Governor Gavin Newsom's climate change initiatives.

Governor Newsom emphasized the importance of battery storage projects, stating, "Since the beginning of my administration, California has been on the front lines of the global battery revolution. We’ve ramped up battery storage capacity by more than 1,600% – bringing us a quarter of the way to meeting our projected need."

The installation at Camp Pendleton's Haybarn Energy Reliability Center will initially offer 6 megawatts (MW)/48 megawatt hours (MWh) of energy storage, with plans to expand it to 50 MW/400 MWh. The facility supports one of the Department of Defense’s busiest installations and is expected to be operational by summer 2027.

This project aligns with California's clean energy goals as it works towards achieving 52,000 MW of energy storage capacity by 2045. Currently, typical battery storage technologies can discharge for two to four hours, while long-duration systems can provide power for up to 100 hours.

In recent years, California has significantly increased its battery storage capacity from just 770 MW in 2019 to over 13,300 MW today. This expansion has bolstered grid stability during extreme weather conditions.