Energy Storage

SDG&E picks Mitsubishi Power battery storage for microgrid projects

The microgrid projects equipped with battery storage must be commercially operable no later than August 1, 2023.
SDG&E picks Mitsubishi Power battery storage for microgrid projects
(Source: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.)

San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) ordered Mitsubishi Power’s battery storage and equipment for four microgrids the utility is planning.

The total capacity across the utility-scale projects would be 39 MW/180 MWh.

Mitsubishi Power’s Emerald storage solution includes an integrated plant controller, which is an energy management system and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system with a monitoring and supervisory control platform. The company has a 10-year service agreement with SDG&E.

The Elliot, Clairemont, Paradise, and Boulevard microgrid projects were approved by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on June 23 and are slated to be online in mid-2023.

The microgrids will connect to existing infrastructure in the San Diego area to address Summer 2023 reliability amid high energy demands on hot summer days and peak evening hours.

  • The Clairemont substation microgrid will have the ability to power the Balboa Branch Library/Cool Zone, Fire Station 36, and local schools such as Lafayette Elementary and Sequoia Elementary Schools, Innovation and CPMA Middle Schools, and Madison High School
  • The Boulevard substation microgrid will have the ability to power the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, Fire Station 47, Campo Reservation Fire Station, Cal Fire White Star Station, Campo Tribal Office, Campo Kumeyaay Nation Medical Center, Southern Indian Health Council Campo Clinic, the Boulevard Border Patrol Station, and the Boulevard Post Office
  • The Paradise substation microgrid will have the ability to power Fire Stations 51 and 32, the Southeast Division Police Department, and Bell Middle School, as well as Freese, Boone and Fulton Elementary
  • The Elliott substation microgrid will have the ability to power Fire Station 39, the Tierrasanta Public Library/Cool Zone, Tierrasanta Medical Center, Jean Farb Middle School, Canyon Hills High School, and Tierrasanta and Kumeyaay Elementary Schools.
Source: PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, Resolution E-5219. San Diego Gas & Electric Company Contract and Cost Information for Four Utility-Owned Circuit-Level Energy Storage Microgrid Projects Pursuant to Decision 21-12-004.

The projects stemmed from Gov. Newsom’s Proclamation of a State Emergency issued last summer, which outlines California’s energy needs in the face of growing climate challenges. The four new projects, slated to be completed in summer 2023, are the latest of a series of energy storage investments by SDG&E, including the opening of Top Gun, a 30 MW facility, in June 2021 and Kearny Energy Storage, a 20 MW facility, in March 2022.

The projects must be commercially operable no later than August 1, 2023.

SDG&E has a balance of plant agreement with Morrow Meadows.

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