PG&E, Energy Vault plan largest US utility-scale battery, green hydrogen long-duration storage projec

Calistoga, a city in California’s wine country, is vulnerable to high winds and fire, During disruptions on the region’s electrical grid, the microgrid would use lithium-ion batteries and fuel cells running on hydrogen to power the city without greenhouse gas emissions, unlike mobile diesel generators providing backup power at substations.

Fuel cells use an electrochemical process instead of combustion to generate electricity. Emissions are nonpolluting water vapor.

Laura Snideman, city manager of Calistoga, a city with a population of about 5,200, told PG&E in a December letter the area is “prone to high winds, wildfires and extreme temperatures and home to many seniors and low-income residents.”...