ELECTRICITY: THE WORLD’S LARGEST SINGLE-PHASE BATTERY 

Did you know that the world’s largest single-phase battery can power more than 47,000 homes each year?

Many individual energy storage plants augment electrical grids by capturing excess electrical energy during periods of low demand and storing it in other forms until needed on an electrical grid. The energy is later converted back to its electrical form and returned to the grid as needed. 

Crimson Storage, the world’s largest single-phase battery, which is now live in the California desert, United States is also the second-largest energy storage project currently in operation of any configuration. The 350 megawatt (MW)/1400 megawatt-hour (MWh) battery storage project, sits on a 2,000 acres west of Blythe in Riverside County, and broke ground in 2021.

The construction of the project was carried out by Canadian Solar which also provided the battery energy storage systems, while Axium Infrastructure and solar and storage developer, Recurrent Energy, will be Crimson Storage’s long-term owners.

Residential homes are usually served by a single-phase power supply, and this project, on average, is expected to store and dispatch enough electricity to power more than 47,000 homes each year. 

Crimson Storage also holds two long-term contracts with local utilities: a 200 MW/800 MWh 14-year and 10-month contract with Southern California Edison, and a 150 MW/ 600MWh 15-year contract with Pacific Gas and Electric. It was the first standalone energy storage project to be approved by the Biden administration on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands in May 2021.

The 350 MW Crimson Solar Project, of which the Crimson Storage is a part of, costs $550 million, and it will generate and deliver power through the Southern California Edison Colorado River Substation as well as provide power for around 87,500 homes. The solar arm of this project will be constructed at a future date.

Other largest battery energy storage systems worldwide include:

1] Vistra Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility in California, U.S. developed by Vistra Energy with a capacity of 400MW / 1,600WMWh

2] Manatee Energy Storage Center Project in Florida, U.S. developed by Florida Power & Light (FPL) with capacity of 409MW/900MWh

3] Victorian Big Battery near Geelong in Australia, developed by Neoen with capacity of 300MW/450MWh

4] McCoy Solar Energy Project BESS in California, U.S. developed by NextEra Energy Resources with capacity of 230MW /920MWh

5 Elkhorn Battery in California, U.S. developed by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) with capacity of 182.5MW /730MWh.

Sources:

https://electrek.co/2022/10/19/the-worlds-largest-single-phase-battery-is-now-up-and-running/

https://www.saurenergy.com/solar-energy-news/the-top-5-largest-battery-energy-storage-systems-worldwide