- California utility PG&E is developing a long-duration energy storage microgrid combining batteries and green hydrogen, in partnership with Energy Vault, the company known for its gravity-based solution.
- The project was submitted to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for review and approval just before the turn of the year. A final resolution has been asked for by 15 May 2023.
California utility PG&E is developing a long-duration energy storage microgrid combining batteries and green hydrogen, in partnership with Energy Vault, the company known for its gravity-based solution. The two companies are partnering to deploy and operate what they called a utility-scale battery plus green hydrogen long-duration energy storage system or ‘BH-ESS’. The system will have a minimum of 293MWh of dispatchable energy and will power the downtown (central) and surrounding area of the city of Calistoga including critical facilities such as fire and police stations. This project will enable the city to move away from using diesel generators, the typical solution used during grid outages. The system will have grid forming and black start capabilities. Construction is expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2023 with commercial operation by the end of the second quarter of 2024. Energy Vault said it would be the first of its kind and the largest utility-scale green hydrogen project in the United States.
The project was submitted to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for review and approval just before the turn of the year. A final resolution has been asked for by 15 May 2023. Energy Vault will own, operate and maintain the energy storage system and provide dispatchable power to PG&E, one of three investor-owned utilities in the state, under a 10.5-year rolling agreement. The system may be expanded to 700MWh in future. Energy Vault described its services as “Distributed Generation-Enabled Microgrid Services”. It said this “…involves using grid-forming generation and storage resources, potentially in combination with demand-side resources, to provide energy, fault current contribution and to regulate voltage and frequency within the utility’s established parameters to enable the islanding of the Calistoga microgrid during planned outages.”
Robert Piconi, chairman and chief executive officer of Energy Vault commented: “We are setting a new benchmark for what can be achieved with an innovative design that integrates the most advanced energy storage mediums in order to deliver a fully renewable green hydrogen battery energy storage system.Our engineers designed this innovative hybrid energy storage system leveraging Energy Vault’s technology-neutral integration platform and energy management software. This project represents another key customer validation of our strategy and our unmatched, industry-leading ability to bring the most innovative short, long and ultra-long duration energy storage technologies to our customers with proprietary gravity, green hydrogen and hybrid battery solutions as we deliver on our mission of enabling a renewable world.”