California already has battery storage systems at a national level, but it is about to establish a new record. According to developer Intersect Power, the company is about to build the largest s in the worldBattery storage project and OLAR in Western Fresno Count.
The Darden Darden de Intersect will have a battery energy storage system of up to 4.6 GW-Hores and a solar installation of 1.15 GW with about 3.1 million panels. It will also include a 34,5-500 kV grilled grid substation, a 500-kilometer 500 kV generation line and a 500 kV garden. Interconnection in the transmission line of the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. Co. Los Banos-Midway #2, you are expected to generate enough energy to feed 850,000 homes for four hours,
“This is a huge project and a great step forward” for battery energy storage, said Zack Permonti, vice -president of government affairs of the National Association of Utility Contractors, commenting on what he described as an emerging market that grows rapidly. “Although it may be the largest in the world when it is complete … it will not have this title for a long time,” he added, due to the growing need of the United States, with more systems located in solar and wind -up sites.
“Energy systems for sole-more-more storage, such as Darden, take advantage of abundant energy resources to reliably feed the network during the day and until night, and are helping California to build a more reliable, affordable and resistant network,” said Brian Turner, a regulatory director of Law Advanced Energy Energy.
Intersect told Enr an email planned for a continuous construction calendar that will begin at the end of 2025. He hopes that the installation will work completely at the end of 2027 or the beginning of 2028. The company refused to provide the total cost of the project or to spread a selection of contractors, but said that the project would create more than 2,000 purpose construction work.
But its renewable energy project of similar size perkins, which includes a solar storage installation and 1.1 GW batteries located on the private and federal land to the east of El Centro, California, was reported by local media as a $ 2.5 billion project. It is still under a deactivation review, the agency said.
Neither intersect nor the commission had confirmed by Enr Story by posting a statement on a state website that a 800 MW proposed green hydrogen production facility was originally abandoned from the Darden and Reason why.
On a fast track
Darden is one of the first California projects to be allowed within the framework of the new State Deactivation Certification Program. The program is part of the Gavin Newsom’s Build Initiative Government, which aims to accelerate the permanence of critical infrastructure, spokesman for the California Energy Commission, which approved it for the program, told Enr.
The Hybrid Cornucopia project of 300mw Approved in the spring launched the initiative that fHe said that the occasions only allow and support California’s goal in the transition to 100% zero carbon retail electric sales by 2045, he said. In addition, the Commission has also approved two other projects for deactivation: Wind Wind, a 205 MW wind project in Shasta County and Compass Energy Storage, a 250 MW energy storage project in San Juan Capistrano, Orange County.
As part of the deactivation program, the Commission has a 270 -day clock to complete an environmental review of the project, unless there are significant changes in the project that require more time, said Permonti. The Darden project was erased in 265 days, the spokesman said. In comparison, an environmental review of the United States government under NEPA federal law, “is supposed to be completed in two years, but reviews can drag an eternity,” he said. “Allow delays increase costs enormously” and delay projects ..
Fire prevention and safety
The Intersect’s mass storage project is based on a continuous research of a major fire that exploded in January near San Jose, which destroyed most of a 300 MW lithium ion battery matrix at the Moss Moss Energy storage installation. The cause of the combustion is still unknown, according to a research report on the Vistra website
When asked what steps are being taken to help prevent these fires, Intersect said that the chemistry, design and safety of their battery complex requirements “are completely different from those associated with Vistra’s installation in Moss Landing.” Darden will only use the Tesla Megapack 2 XL that has been tried and designed strictly, said that “there has never been a thermal event associated with the MP2 XL Tesla, despite a wide trade deployment.”
The company also said that the project will follow a sturdy construction and construction health program and an emergency response plan to ensure the safety of all nearby workers and communities throughout the construction of places and the long -term operation. The Commission’s spokesman said that, as part of the deactivation process, Darden underwent a thorough technical and environmental review, including a detailed fire safety analysis.
The project will use “a container design, that is, the batteries are in separate and closed units, similar to a shipping container,” said the spokesman, who added that this approach is now recognized as safer and manageable in the event of a fire. “This design contrasts with that of the facilities such as Moss Landing de Vistra, where the batteries were in a large building that allowed to spread thermal events,” he said. The Darden container “helps to isolate potential incidents, minimizing the risk of climbing,” said the spokesman.
Darden fire prevention functions will also include deflagration panels in case of gas accumulation; Thermal infrared cameras installed on the site; a Fire Protection Program for Construction, Operations and Maintenance; and a control and control center dedicated outside the storage installation.
Intersect said that the project will be financed by a combination of tax, debt and federal tax credits for solar and storage assets, which said they are consistent with industry practices for solar and battery storage projects.
California leads the United States to battery storage capacity, only in China worldwide. The state has more than 200 systems on a useful scale and more than 250,000 commercial and residential facilities, with a total of 15.7 GW throughout the state.
