California Energy Storage Boom Begins With Competitive Procurement Announcement

WASHINGTON, Nov. 5, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This morning Southern California Edison (SCE) announced the initial contract winners for its Local Capacity Requirement (LCR) RFO, including more than 260 megawatts (MW) of energy storage, to increase reliability and enhance the utility's ability to provide adequate energy resources to California consumers.  Energy storage - both grid scale and distributed - made up more than 11% of the 2,221 total MW that SCE will procure as a part of its long-term resource planning for the Southern California system.

The procurement process marks the first time that SCE measured energy storage systems side-by-side in a competitive bidding process with traditional energy assets to meet long-term energy and reliability needs for the electricity grid.  SCE was required by recent legislation in the state to assess the value and viability of deploying 50 MW of energy storage on their system, and after competitive review with an independent evaluator the utility will move forward with more than five times that amount.

"This decision by Southern California Edison shows that when energy storage is measured competitively against traditional energy assets, it proves to be a critical component and vital tool for resource planners to create a more reliable, flexible grid infrastructure," said Matt Roberts, Executive Director of the Energy Storage Association (ESA). "Energy storage enables us to use electricity more efficiently, improve energy diversity, and incorporate a greater mix of renewables and clean technologies to create system-wide benefits."

In total, more than 24 contracts will be awarded to energy storage companies.  The largest system that SCE will procure is a 100-megawatt grid-tied, "in-front-of-meter" battery system in the West LA Basin region that will be developed by ESA Leadership Circle member AES Energy Storage.

The procurement proposal also includes a 0.5 MW grid-tied battery energy storage system that will be developed by NRG Energy, Inc. and a number of distributed, behind-the-meter projects as well, including:

• 85 megawatts of lithium-ion battery systems from STEM
• 50 megawatts of battery-based "hybrid electric building" projects from Advanced Microgrid Solutions
• 25.6 megawatts of thermal energy storage from Ice Energy

"No utility has made this large of a simultaneous investment in grid-tied and customer-owned energy storage systems before," continued Roberts. "We applaud SCE for their vision for a more integrated and reliable grid system for Southern California, and congratulate all the awardees for delivering competitive, cost-effective energy storage solutions."

Before the end of 2014, California's three largest utilities - SCE, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) – are collectively required to submit plans for competitive procurement of 200 MW of energy storage, a number far exceeded by today's announcement alone.

About ESA –
The Energy Storage Association is the national trade association for the energy storage industry whose mission is to promote, develop and commercialize competitive and reliable energy storage delivery systems for use by electricity suppliers and their customers. ESA members represent a diverse group of entities, including electric utilities, energy service companies, independent power producers, and technology developers deploying advanced batteries, flywheels, compressed air energy storage, thermal storage, pumped hydropower, supercapacitors and component suppliers.

To learn more about the Energy Storage Association, please visit www.EnergyStorage.org.

CONTACT: Matt Roberts
202-293-0537 / [email protected]

SOURCE Energy Storage Association