Lithium-ion takes early lead in Calif. race for longer-lasting energy storage

S&P Global

California Community Power on Jan. 19 unanimously approved an agreement with an affiliate of LS Power Corp. to supply an eight-hour energy storage project relying on lithium-ion batteries, highlighting the technology’s early lead in the Golden State’s search for longer-duration storage assets.

The local government-run agency, formed in 2021 to pool the buying power of 10 community choice aggregators, or CCAs, authorized the 15-year contract for 69 MW/552 MWh of energy storage from LS Power’s Tumbleweed project in Kern County, Calif., beginning in 2024. The seven CCAs participating in the project — the first in their joint request for proposals, or RFP, for 500 MW of long-duration energy storage — must still grant individual approvals.

California’s recent surge in energy storage capacity has focused largely on four-hour lithium-ion facilities, but longer durations of storage are becoming increasingly needed by the market.

Read more here: Lithium-ion takes early lead in Calif. race for longer-lasting energy storage | S&P Global Market Intelligence (spglobal.com)