Strategy to release 1,500 MW/6,000 MWh storage space project gets authorization in the US

• An authorization to broaden Vistra's natural gas-fired Moss Landing generation station to 1,500 MW/6,000 MWh has been accepted, setting the stage for the world to see gigawatt-scale battery energy storage for the first time ever.

The past month has been cluttered with information of incredibly big battery storage developments, yet none worldwide can compare to the news that Vistra's permit to increase a power storage system under construction at its all-natural gas-fired Moss Landing generation station in California to 1,500 MW/6,000 MWh has been authorized.

That's right. Gigawatt-scale battery power storage is on the table.

The proposed growth would certainly quadruple the battery system's size and make it the largest battery storage installation worldwide, a couple of times over.

While the permit has been approved, the growth will happen "need to market as well as financial conditions sustain it," according to Vistra President and also CEO Curtis Morgan.

For some perspective as to how big this battery is, consider that, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the nation's entire mounted battery storage capability at the end of 2018 was available in at 869 MW, while overall mounted battery storage at the end of 2019 (including behind-the-meter) was approximately 1.7 GW, according to Wood Mackenzie. This battery, when finished, will be bigger in ability than every other utility-scale battery energy storage system in the country, integrated.

The system is coming in phases, just two of which have actually been formally announced. The first 300-MW phase is prepared for conclusion by the end of 2020, with the second, a 100-MW development expected to come a year later on in 2021.

International perspective

This system is not the only big battery going in at the Moss Landing website. Ready to clock in at 182.5 MW and also 730 MWh, the Moss Landing battery power storage space system will certainly be comprised of 256 Tesla Megapack battery units on 33 concrete slabs at the substation. The project's targeted conclusion as well as energization is established for early-2021, with the project attaining full business operation in Q2 2021.

For further perspective, contrast the dimension of the recommended Vistra battery development with the listing of the largest battery power storage installations in the world so far.

The globe's biggest running battery storage system, the Hornsdale Power Reserve in South Australia, utilizes Tesla batteries and is informally referred to as the Tesla Big Battery, though it will certainly soon be unseated by Tesla's Moss Landing setup.