Southern California Edison (SCE) announced the suppliers and projects it has selected for the largest grid-connected energy storage purchase in U.S. history. This energy storage procurement is more than five times greater than SCE's minimum authorization of 50 MW, pursuant to a California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) ruling. SCE will purchase 261 MW of energy storage resources, pending approval by the CPUC.
This procurement effort marks the first time SCE has used a competitive solicitation to obtain bids for energy storage projects. Once deployed, the energy storage systems will provide a number of services to SCE's power grid, including ensuring adequate available electrical capacity to meet peak demand.
The companies named to provide storage systems and amounts are:
- NRG Energy, 0.5 MW
- Ice Energy, 25.6 MW
- Advanced Microgrid Solutions, 50 MW
- Stem, 85 MW
- AES Energy Storage, 100 MW
California is currently focused on implementing AB 2514, which requires investor-owned utilities to procure 1.325 GW of energy storage by 2020. The progressive clean energy policies of the CPUC have helped make the state a global leader in energy storage, with substantial progress achieved since its 2013 decision ordering SCE's storage procurement.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.