San Diego Gas & Electric commissions 171 MW energy storage projects in California

San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has concluded the construction of two energy storage projects which are capable of producing a total of 171 MW of power in the US. The energy produced from these storage facilities is expected to power over 130,000 residential homes for up to four hours. The Westside Canal project, situated in Imperial Valley, can generate up to 131 MW of power, making it the largest in SDG&E's energy storage portfolio. The second one, the Fallbrook project situated in Northern San Diego County, is capable of producing up to 40 MW of power and is the second-largest in the company's portfolio.

SDG&E, which is on track to achieve 345 MW capacity by the end of the year, expects its installed energy storage assets to fulfill over 15% of its customers' usual loads and approximately 7% on peak system days, such as hot summer days when air conditioning demand is high. These energy storage facilities are tied into the energy markets controlled by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), allowing CAISO to stockpile and dispatch clean energy as per demand.

Both Westside Canal and Fallbrook projects are made up of lithium-ion batteries arranged into metal cubes. Westside Canal comprises over 800 electric cubes that extend across nearly 16 acres of land, while Fallbrook is smaller, but it is furnished with comparable safety features, remote monitoring, and automatic technologies. The units have been programmed to shut down automatically in case of any anomalies, such as smoke.