420 MWh of energy storage planned for California

Battery energy storage solution and software technology provider FlexGen Energy Systems has been selected to provide energy storage technology and software for 420 MWh of energy storage at four natural gas peaking plants in California.

The four simple cycle natural gas peaking plants are owned by Middle River Power and the facilities will share interconnection facilities.

The battery facilities will be used to store excess carbon-free power during the day and release it when it is most needed over the evening hours, which will make better use of these valuable renewable resources and provide important ancillary services to the market, the company said. In addition, the gas turbines will dispatch significantly less often than they do today, resulting in lower emissions, while remaining available to dispatch during extreme conditions.

“California has been a global leader in driving the clean energy transition, and this group of innovative projects is another important milestone towards providing the state with a reliable grid built on a foundation of clean energy. We’re proud to be partnering with Middle River Power to deliver increased grid reliability and service to California residents and businesses,” said Kelcy Pegler, CEO of FlexGen. “Energy storage is critical to the future of the grid, and FlexGen has spent the last decade honing our capabilities to deliver critical energy storage assets to our partners.”

An example of FlexGen’s energy storage systems. The U.S. company will supply 420 MWh of battery energy storage for four peaker plants in the state of California. (Image: FlexGen)

The energy storage assets store solar energy in the middle of the day then deploy that energy to the grid during evening peak hours, while maintaining natural gas facilities as a flexible, reliable backstop, said Mark Kubow, President of Middle River Power.

“We are excited to introduce our first tranche of projects that takes such a meaningful step in helping California in the transition to more renewable resources,” Kubow said.

Based in Durham, North Carolina, USA, FlexGen is an integration services and software technology provider for energy storage solutions in the United States and globally. FlexGen designs and integrates storage solutions and the software platform that is enabling today’s energy transition. Clients and partners include the developers, utilities, government agencies and industrial companies

As part of its initiatives in the power sector, Avenue Capital established a wholly-owned independent power company, Middle River Power, in 2016 to operate, manage and develop the more than 3000 MW that Avenue has acquired and developed through its managed investment funds.