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The AES Corporation recently marked the dedication of its 100 MW, 400 MWh Luna Battery Storage and 127 MW, 508 MWh Lancaster Area Battery Storage (LAB) facilities in Lancaster, California. The battery storage facilities were completed and came online in August and September 2022, respectively. Together, these two projects represent one of the largest battery storage facilities in California – and the world.
“The Luna and LAB Battery Storage projects are two critically important steps in California’s safe and reliable energy transition,” said Leo Moreno, AES Clean Energy President. “With these two projects, we are delivering the reliable energy our customers and California’s residents need. The Luna and LAB projects demonstrate how we’re advancing the state’s 2045 zero carbon emissions goal.”
The Luna and LAB Battery Storage systems provide a reliable and cost-effective means of storing renewable energy that can then be dispatched during periods of increased electricity demand. Fluence, a global market leader in energy storage products and services as well as cloud-based software for renewables and storage assets, supplied its Gridstack product for the Luna and LAB projects. With this battery storage technology, the Luna and LAB storage facilities can provide enough energy to power 170,000 homes in Southern California for four hours.
Clean Power Alliance is contracted to purchase power from Luna, and Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) is contracted to purchase capacity from LAB. These critical battery storage projects, along with AES’ Alamitos battery facility, are helping strengthen California’s power grid.
On September 6, 2022, one of the most demanding days for the LA region’s power grid due to the heatwave, battery storage set records in terms of grid support. According to one Southern California power company, CAISO records show that over 2,800 MW of battery capacity was discharged to the grid that day. AES’ facilities contributed close to 280 MW of capacity during that time period.
Alberta Investment Company (AIMCo) is an investor in AES’ clean energy business in the US with 25% ownership of the business’ growth projects.
