Further developments from the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) market including new standards for BESS maintenance and operation and new BESS capacity announced by SDG&E.

IPP Ormat Technologies has put an 80MW/320MWh BESS in California into commercial operation, and will now leverage the investment tax credit (ITC) for which it is eligible.

A recent fire event at a large-scale battery storage project owned by California utility San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) was dealt with effectively and in an exemplary manner.

Update 9 September 2024: The fire was “out and cold” by 1am on Friday, 6 September, around 13 hours after it was reported at 12:09pm Thursday.

Virtual power plant (VPP) projects using home batteries have been launched and extended in Texas, Vermont and California.

Californian investor-owned utility (IOU) San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) is seeking tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) for its upcoming energy storage projects, which it said would enable it to reduce electricity rates for its customers.

California utility SDG&E has commissioned two projects totalling 171MW of battery storage, while system integrator Ameresco has secured contracts to deliver 379MWh for at four gas plants in the state.

Energy technology firm Wärtsilä completed a 125MW/250MWh battery storage project for REV Renewables in California in time to help CAISO deal with record heatwave conditions in September 2022.

A trio of projects using electric vehicle (EV) batteries and charging infrastructure to support the grid in California have been announced this week.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has approved 497MW of energy storage procured by utility Southern California Edison (SCE) to come online from August 2023 through June 2024.