The Coachella Valley’s two electric utilities are national leaders in one of the hottest clean-energy technologies, according to a first-of-its-kind report.
The Imperial Irrigation District and Southern California Edison brought more battery storage onto the grid than any other U.S. electric utilities in 2016, according to data compiled by the Smart Electric Power Alliance, which was released this week. The Washington, D.C.-based trade organization surveyed 178 utilities, and found that 43 added storage to their portfolios last year — none more so than Imperial and Edison.
Energy storage is a simple concept: Generate electricity when it’s cheap, and stow those electrons away until you need them. While large-scale batteries are still relatively expensive, they’re becoming increasingly popular among utilities as more solar and wind farms are built. Those renewable energy facilities generate cheap electricity, but only when the sun is shining or the wind blows. That doesn’t always line up with when homes and businesses are using energy — hence the growing interest in batteries.
“The technology is rapidly improving and becoming more economic,” said Brenda Chew, a research analyst at the Smart Electric Power Alliance, whose members include utilities, solar installers and storage companies, among others. “Overall, it’s just seen as an important player for integrating higher levels of renewable (energy).”
The Imperial Irrigation District — which serves 150,000 customers in the Imperial Valley and the eastern Coachella Valley — opened a 30-megawatt battery in El Centro, one of the country’s largest lithium-ion batteries, in October. General Electric and Samsung were among the contractors who worked on the project, which cost $38 million.
District officials have said the battery will make it easier for them to incorporate more solar and wind into their energy mix.
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