California regulators approve largest LDES project with US Department of Defense

The California Energy Commission approved a $42 million grant Dec. 11 for a long direction energy storage system, the most substantial project the commission has done in partnership with the US Department of Defense.

The agreement with International Electric Power Camp Pendleton Energy Storage 1 would build a 6 MW/48 MWh zinc-hybrid long duration storage system. Plans call for it to be expanded to 50 MW/400 MWh. Such a project would address national security and energy security by moving away from oil dependence, Commissioner Patty Monahan said during the Dec. 11 commission meeting.

"One in four casualties in the military in the Middle East was around oil, the movement of oil, and energy security has always been a big driver for electrification of transportation to move off of oil because of the energy security implications of our oil dependence," Monahan said.

There is a lot of military interest in moving towards renewable energy to make troops more secure and reduce casualties, she added.

"I think it's a life or death situation and I feel like when we think about making investments in long duration energy storage, you don't think about what this means for reducing oil use and yet that is a big driver for the military to make their troops more secure," Monahan said, adding it is important for national security, energy security and the climate.

This project will represent the largest long duration energy storage project in the Department of Defense at this time, said Brenda Johnson-Turner, deputy assistant secretary of the US Navy for installation and facilities. The project will provide electricity back to the California grid and backup power to US Marines for up to 14 days in the event of power outages, she added.

The project will be installed at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton's Haybarn Energy Reliability Center. It is expected to be operational in summer 2027.

Repeatable use cases

This is the largest grant under the state's Long-Duration Energy Storage Program, funded by Gov. Gavin Newsom's multi-billion-dollar commitment to combat climate change. To date, $170 million has been awarded for seven projects.

"This would in fact be the most substantial project the CEC has done in partnership with the US Department of Defense," said Kevin Mallon, energy storage research specialist in the Commission's energy research and development division.

While this grant would only fund a 6-MW, 48-MWh project, it would lead to a successive development of an additional 352 MWh of energy storage privately financed for a total system size of 50 MW/400 MWh, Mallon added.

"This would be the biggest commercial project in the CEC's long duration energy storage program and when operating will be the biggest non-lithium ion system in the state," Mallon said, adding the project would demonstrate two repeatable use cases for long duration energy storage.

The first would be the first large-scale demonstration of long duration energy storage operating as a stand along merchant battery system, Mallon said, adding it would operate by purchasing energy from the grid during the day when there is a surplus of renewables and putting energy back to the grid during period of peak demand. This project is not paired with on-site solar like previous demonstrations.

The second use case would be to serve as a blueprint for using long duration energy storage for military energy resiliency, Mallon said.

"If a project of this scale were to be replicated at the 29 other major military installations in California that would represent 1.2 GW of long duration energy storage," Mallon said.

Reducing the consumption of fossil fuels has many benefits, Commission Chair David Hochschild said, adding there has been about 11 GW of utility-scale storage deployed in California.

"The ability to have longer dispatch and make use of this huge supply of surplus clean energy in the middle of the day and be able to have that power at night and through days when it is not sunny, that's very, very valuable," Hochschild said. "So, this is a really exciting milestone."

The Commission estimates that more than 48 GW of traditional battery storage and 4 GW of long-duration energy storage will be needed to meet the state's goal of 100% clean electricity by 2045. In the last five years, the state's battery storage capacity has grown by more than 15 times, from 770 MW in 2019 to 13.3 GW in 2024.

Clean Transportation Program

Separately, the Commission approved the $1.4 billion 2024-2025 investment plan update for the Clean Transportation Program, which provides funding to support innovation and accelerate the development and deployment of zero-emission and other advanced fuels and transportation technologies. The update establishes funding allocations based on transportation needs and opportunities, including a focus on zero-emission vehicle infrastructure and prioritization of jobs, economic stimulus and equity.

Fiscal year 2024-2025 allocations are as follows:

• $40 million: light-duty electric vehicle charging infrastructure
• $38.2 million: medium- and heavy-duty ZEV infrastructure
• $15 million: hydrogen-specific funding
• $2 million: ZEV workforce development

"California is investing in this future," Monahan said. "We want to make sure we're doing all we can to leave no communities behind and make people's lives better as we deploy infrastructure and use our funds wisely."

The report is expected to be published in January.