Southern Power, a US energy wholesaler and subsidiary of Southern Co., has received two 20-year power purchase agreements from Southern California Edison (SCE) and is adding battery-based energy storage resources at both Southern Power's Tranquility Solar Facility and Garland solar facility in California .
“These projects will be two of the first joint solar and storage projects in the California market,” said Bill Grantham, president of Southern Power. “We are excited to be part of the effort to improve network reliability in California. The addition of these storage resources to our clean energy portfolio is a great fit for our business and will continue to position Southern Power to serve our customers' needs as the energy industry evolves. “
The battery-based energy storage systems will improve grid reliability in California by providing SCE and the California ISO (CAISO) with additional flexible resource capacities to help further integrate intermittent renewable energies into the grid. The Garland solar facility in Kern County, California will add 88 MW and 352 MWh of energy storage, while the Tranquility solar facility in Fresno County, California will add 72 MW and 288 MWh of energy storage.
The energy storage projects are operated in partnership with AIP Management (on behalf of the Danish pension funds PKA and PenSam) and the Global Atlantic Financial Group, both of which already have stakes in the Garland and Tranquility solar systems, which were commissioned in 2016. Southern Power operates the solar projects and will be responsible for the operation of the energy storage projects after completion.
Southern Power notes that the two energy storage projects are in line with its growth strategy of developing and acquiring projects backed by long-term contracts with strong credit partners.