Information provided by Central Coast Community Energy

The Central Coast Community Energy announced four new energy storage projects located within its service area of Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz counties.

“All projects came to fruition in response to CCCE’s Local Energy Storage Resiliency Project Request for Proposals issued in June of this year, with two additional storage projects still under consideration in San Benito and Santa Cruz counties, one of which includes solar generation,” CCCE said and added it received 21 proposals from 16 developers.”

CCCE said the projects are estimated to be operational in 2026.

• The Bodega Energy Storage project is located in Gonzales and will provide 10 MW of storage and deliver 80 MW/hours (MWh).
• The Green Valley Energy Storage Project is located in Salinas and will provide 16 MW of storage to discharge 128 MWh
• The Rava Mesa project is located in Unincorporated Monterey County and will provide 6 MW of storage for a total discharge cycle of 18 MWh.

These three projects will be developed by the firm, Concentric Power, Inc.

The fourth project in Santa Maria, the Industrial Parkway Storage Project, will be developed by Renewable Properties, LLC.  The project will provide 10 MW of storage for a total discharge cycle of 40 MWh. Of the four projects announced, the Industrial Parkway Storage Project is the only one that will not deploy long-duration storage.

“These local energy storage projects will create jobs, support the effectiveness of standalone energy storage, contribute to statewide grid stability, and support California’s transition to clean and renewable energy,” Central Coast Community Energy CEO Tom Habashi said. “Long duration energy storage plays an integral role in all of this. Central Coast Community Energy is proud to be innovating with emerging technologies within our service area.”

Three of the four energy storage projects implicated will use vanadium redox flow battery (VRB) technology. CCCE said VRB is lesser known but the advantages include slower release for longer duration, longer operational lifespan, and safer due to nonflammable materials.

“Long duration storage is something that California’s energy regulators are calling for as the state prepares for more conventional power plants to be replaced by renewable sources,” CCCE said and added that the projects highlight the economic and logistical challenges often associated with local energy generation and distribution.

“CCCE has remained committed to overcoming [challenges] despite prior solicitations resulting in project proposals that risked being counterproductive to delivering fair and stable electricity rates – a hallmark of CCCE service,” CCCE said.

“CCCE’s responsiveness and innovation continue to support and remind us of how important local control is in addressing economic development and clean energy resources,” shares CCCE Policy Board Chair and Salinas City Council member, Steve McShane. “This is a huge win for our region and the state. Long duration energy storage is the crux for large-scale renewable energy growth. These projects are big accomplishments in themselves but also key to CCCE achieving future goals such as 100% clean and renewable energy by 2030.”