California utility PG&E is developing a long-duration energy storage microgrid combining batteries and green hydrogen, in partnership with Energy Vault, the company known for its gravity-based solution.
The two companies are partnering to deploy and operate what they called a utility-scale battery plus green hydrogen long-duration energy storage system or ‘BH-ESS’.
It will have a minimum of 293MWh of dispatchable energy and will power the downtown (central) and surrounding area of the city of Calistoga including critical facilities such as fire and police stations. The city is located in Napa Valley, California.
The system is designed to provide 48 hours of duration during planned outages and Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPSs), which grid operator CAISO uses when wildfire risks force it to turn powerlines off...