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Out in the desert in Riverside County, the world’s largest single-phase battery is now operational. Named Crimson Storage, the new project comes in at 350 MW/1400MWh in size and will be able to provide power for 47,000 homes each year, and add much-needed flexibility to the state’s grid. Canadian Solar (Guelph, Canada) constructed the facility and provided the batteries while Axium Infrastructure (Montreal, Canada) will be responsible for running the system in the long term.
The project’s completion comes on the heels of last month’s energy crisis, in which battery storage was instrumental in helping the state avoid power outages. At the time, California had around 4GWs (4,000MW) of battery storage available, meaning the new addition should add around 9% more. That may not sound like a ton, but as citizens saw back in September, every watt counts: On September 6th, a text message alert from the governor's office urging Californian’s to scale back their energy usage led a almost immediate decrease of 2,000 megawatts, and effectively nullified the threat of blackouts. When the grid is at its limit, an extra 350 MW can absolutely make a difference.
Crimson Storage sits on 2,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management land, west of Blythe. Construction began in May of 2021, meaning Canadian Solar was able to bring the project online in just 17 months.
In addition to bolstering the grid in times of high demand, adding more and more battery energy storage will also enable California to accelerate its transition from fossil fuels to renewables, as the batteries are able to supplement energy needs when solar and wind power may be lower than expected. It should also reduce California's reliance on energy imports from other states, which often use a higher fraction of fossil fuels.
California certainly isn’t perfect, but you’ve got to feel a little bit inspired by the progress on the transition to renewables. It’s going, like, pretty okay, man. The battery abides. --David Shultz
Join Us! dot.LA Summit Oct. 20-21st
Join us at the dot.LA Summit coming up on October 20th & 21st at the iconic Petersen Museum!
- Learn from some of the most exciting organizations changing the world from Southern California, including Disney, Metropolis, Sweetgreen, Nextbite, Fanhouse, Greycroft, BAM and many more.
- Connect with hundreds of top founders, investors and operators across L.A.'s tech ecosystem.
- Celebrate great entrepreneurs and companies at the dot.LA Startup Awards.
- Watch our pitch competition featuring L.A.-area startups. The winner will receive their choice of a 3-month coaching engagement or culture-building consultation with investment firm Evolution.
A Content Creators' Guide to Navigating TikTok 'Finfluencers'
Many financial influencers are selling a fantasy of getting easy money via passive income rather than offering tips on saving and investing. And they’ve found a captive audience of Gen Z users.
LA's ADU Problem: Building Still Cost-Prohibitive, Experts Say
A number of new laws may make ADU (Accessory Dwelling Units) construction easier in California. Unfortunately, the costs may thwart many of those who could otherwise benefit from building and renting them out.
Here's What To Expect in the Trial of Scrubs Startup FIGS
This week begins the trials of FIGS, the medical scrub startup based in Santa Monica currently being sued by Strategic Partners Inc. for false advertising and misleading business practices.
Listen Up: Touchdown Ventures' Beth Kearns on Corporate Innovation
On this episode of the L.A. Venture podcast, Kearns discusses the entertainment industry’s fraught relationship with tech, the seemingly incongruous notion of “corporate innovation."
What We’re Reading...
- Lil Miquela, the first computer-generated Instagram influencers, takes to Twitter with some truly bizarre claims.
- First electric cars... could electric planes be next? A glimpse inside Ampaire and Air France's plan to transform the sky.
- Netflix bounced back in Q3, but the streamer isn't betting on its upcoming ad tier for a 'material' lift in revenue.
- L.A.'s City Council unanimously adopts a Plant Based Treaty in response to climate change.
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