Construction on San Diego’s biggest Energy Storage Project could begin early 2022
By Rod Walton, EnergyTech Senior Editor
Omaha-based energy firm Tenaska will partner with Arevon and Tesla in building a 200-MW/400—MWh battery storage project in the Barrio Logan neighborhood of San Diego.
The Peregrine utility-scale storage site could begin construction early next year, pending regulatory approvals. The energy storage plant would provide grid balancing and peak demand support to a state and region which is depending on a high level of renewable energy in the future.
“Given our bold climate goals at both the city and state level, investments in energy storage are critical to support increasing levels of renewable energy production and maintain a flexible and resilient electricity grid,” said City of San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria in a statement last month. “We hope to see more energy storage projects like this one throughout the region in alignment with our Climate Action Plan and Climate Resilient SD goals.”
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Tenaska, which develops energy projects both in the conventional and clean energy sectors, will collaborate with Arizona-based renewables firm Arevon on the project which will utilize Tesla Megapack battery storage systems. The partners hope to have Peregrine construction completed and operational sometime in 2023.
It will be Tenaska’s first energy storage project in California and San Diego’s largest utility-scale battery development so far, according to the companies involved.
“The Peregrine project will efficiently store energy at peak solar production times for later use in high energy demand evenings,” said Tim Hemig, senior vice president in Tenaska’s Strategic Development & Acquisitions Group. “This type of state-of-the-art technology solves some of California’s greatest energy challenges.”
Energy storage is a key pillar of the state’s goal to reach 100 percent renewable energy resources by 2045. The state’s Energy Commission wants to speed up approval of projects as it deals with electricity shortfalls in the past year.
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(Rod Walton, senior editor for EnergyTech, is a 14-year veteran of covering the energy industry both as a newspaper and trade journalist. He can reached at [email protected]).
