Silicon Valley Could Get Power From Batteries Under PG&E Plan
The California utility has sought approval from state regulators for four energy-storage projects.
(Bloomberg) -- PG&E Corp. is proposing using giant lithium-ion batteries, including packs supplied by Tesla Inc., to replace power supplied to Silicon Valley from burning natural gas.
The California utility has sought approval from state regulators for four energy-storage projects with a total capacity of about 567 megawatts, according to a statement Friday. The California Energy Commission says 1 megawatt of power can supply 750 homes. The California Public Utilities Commission in January ordered PG&E to use batteries and other non-fossil fuel resources to replace the power supplied by gas plants owned by Calpine Corp.
PG&E would own one of the storage systems outright: a 182.5-megawatt project to be built in Silicon Valley with the Tesla batteries. The other proposed projects comprise a 300-megawatt system owned by Vistra Energy Corp., a 75-megawatt system owned by Hummingbird Energy Storage LLC and 10 megawatts of behind-the-meter batteries Micronoc Inc. will install at customer sites.
To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Chediak in San Francisco at mchediak@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lynn Doan at ldoan6@bloomberg.net, Margot Habiby
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