SAN DIEGO — San Diego leaders along with SDG&E unveiled the newly built Kearny energy storage facility on Tuesday. The facility is expected to help bolster grid reliability and help San Diego meet its clean energy goals.
The 20 megawatt/80 megawatt hour facility will meet the energy needs of about 13,000 residential customers for up to four hours. SDG&E says the site is their first energy storage project to deploy lithium-ion phosphate batteries, a chemistry they say is more durable.
Speakers at Tuesday’s event discussed the importance of energy storage in helping the region meet climate and resilience goals. According to a press release, utility-scale batteries like the Kearny Energy Storage can absorb the excess solar electricity generated during the day and send it back to the grid when it’s needed at night.
According to the utility, the Kearny facility is one of several projects that will help California reach its goal of 100% carbon-free electricity by 2045, while also bolstering grid reliability during the summer. SDG&E plans to expand its owned portfolio of energy storage to 145 megawatts by year December.
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