Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
The facility's heart are these batteries stored in the 6000 square foot building. Edison stated there are roughly the equivalent of 2000 Chevy Volt car batteries in these racks. It is at present one of the largest "battery storage" systems in the world, with 8MW of power and capable of storing 32MWh of energy.
Shown from left are: Romeo Agbalog, Senior Filed Representative for California State Senator Jean Fuller; Seokhwan Kwak, VP, Marketing Department, LG Chem; Dr. Imre Gyuk, Energy Storage Program Manager, Department of Energy; Doug Kim, Susan Wiggins, Tehachapi Mayor Pro Tempore; and Zack Scrivner Kern County Board of Supervisors Second District Representative.
A very important milestone is happening here in Tehachapi near the Monolith substation. The "energy" eyes of the world are watching our town. Southern California Edison has opened a test version of a reliable/sustainable/pollution free electrical energy distribution system. Following is a layman's abridged version of the importance of this endeavor:
One of the Achilles' heels in the world of sustainable/renewable energy has been storage. The most commonly used form of electricity by consumers is in the form of A/C (alternating current). This form of electricity is non-storable and requires a constant source of replenishment.
The second form of common consumer energy is called D/C power (direct current). D/C power can be sustainably produced and then stored in batteries and used as needed. What is not used at the moment is saved in the battery for the next time you need it, until it uses up all its stored power.
If a battery was large enough it could store enough power for a whole city. At the same time its energy is being used it could be recharging its own cell. The challenge has been a battery large enough and capable of handling this much energy storage. Recent advances in Lithium-ion batteries along with the auto industry's quest for reliable large scale storage batteries for automobiles has contributed greatly to this cutting edge technology being used in the Edison distribution system.
Southern California Edison held an open house recently to promote and make the public aware of this advance in technology in the following press release:
"The Tehachapi Energy Storage Project, funded by Southern California Energy and the Department of Energy as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, is at present one of the largest "BATTERY STORAGE" systems in the world, with 8MW of power and capable of storing 32MWh of energy.
The Tehachapi Storage Project is a demonstration to further our understanding of energy storage, evaluate the capability of utility-scale lithium-ion battery technology to improve grid performance, and assist in the integration of variable energy resources. The ability to store large amounts of energy generated by the sun and wind will help improve the flexibility and reliability of the next –generation grid."
Located adjacent to the Monolith Substation, just east of downtown, Tehachapi is again where cutting edge technology is happening.
