Batteries put a stop to blackouts

Investment in technology made difference in California's grid

- BY HAYLEY SMITH

BRIAN VAN DER BRUG Los Angeles Times

BATTERY SOLAR energy storage units at the LADWP's largest solar and battery plant, the Eland Solar and Storage Center in Kern County.

For decades, rolling blackouts and urgent calls for energy conservation were part of life in California — a reluctant summer ritual almost as reliable as the heat waves that drove them.

But the state has undergone a quiet shift in recent years, and the California Independent System Operator hasn't issued a single one of those emergency pleas, known as Flex Alerts, since 2022.

Experts and officials say the Golden State has reached a turning point, reflecting years of investment in making its electrical grid stronger, cleaner and more dependable. Much of that is new battery energy storage, which captures and stores electricity for later use.

In fact, batteries have been transformative for California, state officials say. In late afternoon, when the sun stops hitting solar panels and people are home using electricity, batteries now push stored solar energy onto the grid.

California has invested heavily in the technology, helping it mature and get cheaper in recent years. Battery storage in the state has grown more than 3,000% in six years — from 500 megawatts in 2020 to more than 15,700 megawatts today.

“There is no question that the battery fleet that has grown rapidly since 2020, along with the state’s expanding portfolio of other supply and demand-side resources, has been a real game changer for reliability during summer periods of peak demand,” said Elliot Mainzer, CAISO’s president and chief executive.

It was only five years ago that a record-shattering heat wave pushed the grid to its limit and plunged much ofthe state into darkness. In the wake of that event, California’s energy leaders vowed to take action to make the grid more resilient.