Editor's Note: Sustainability is built into everything we do. In celebration of National Clean Energy Week, we are excited to spotlight a few of the projects that are helping us transition to a cleaner and more sustainable energy future for our employees and the communities we serve are proud to serve.
SDG&E broke ground on our Kearny Energy Storage Project this past April. Located on two adjacent parcels of land at the SDG&E operations center in Kearny Mesa, the new storage facility will be able to provide a total of 20MW or 80MWh of power to the local grid – enough to energize approximately 13,000 residential homes for about four hours.
Battery storage works by absorbing electricity, often generated by renewable resources like wind or solar when it is abundant during the day, then sending it back to the grid when it is needed. The site is also the first SDG&E storage project to deploy lithium iron phosphate batteries, a new type of lithium-ion battery chemistry that can provide better power density and longer life cycles. These new batteries will improve safety and reliability at the storage site by reducing the risk of overheating. Additional safety features include new integrated battery enclosure cubes designed to maintain the optimum temperature and environment for the batteries. Each cube is also outfitted with individual fire suppression devices to immediately quell any thermal events.
The Kearny Energy Storage project is one of several SDG&E’s energy storage projects in the region that will help California achieve our state goal to run on 100% renewable or zero-carbon energy by 2045.
Watch an update on the project below and learn more about how SDG&E is shaping the future of energy storage by visiting sdge.com/sustainability.