The Sacramento Municipal Utility District debuted its first major battery site toward its 2030 zero-carbon goal with a 4-megawatt lithium battery project in South Sacramento.
SMUD’s ambitious zero-carbon goal is set 15 years ahead of California’s statewide zero-carbon target of 2045, which is the most advanced in the country.
“Beyond the hands-on experience of constructing, integrating and operating a storage system at utility scale, this project is also the start of a technology leap in dispatchable clean power, which is central to SMUD’s 2030 zero-carbon plan,” said SMUD CEO Paul Lau, in a news release. “SMUD envisions an energy future that lets us capture, store and then dispatch renewable sources such as solar and wind at minimal financial and environmental costs.”
SMUD installed six lithium-ion battery storage units at the utility’s Hedge Solar Farm on Tokay Lane, just off Hedge Avenue, at SMUD’s Sacramento Power Academy, where it teaches utility workers about working with the grid and safety.
The 4 megawatts of storage is part of a pilot program toward SMUD adding 1,100 megawatts of storage over the next decade. The 4-megawatt Hedge battery storage installation is enough to power 800 homes for two hours.
The project includes six battery containers that are 20 feet long and weigh 52,000 pounds apiece. Each unit houses 3,840 interconnected battery cells.
This is the largest battery installation in the greater Sacramento area and the first of its kind for a publicly owned utility in California, SMUD said.
The Hedge battery project is expected to cost $4.5 million. Electrify America, an electric vehicle charging network, provided a $1.3 million upfront investment by participating in SMUD’s StorageShares program, which provides electric bill offsets or credits.
There will also be a five-year monitoring and maintenance agreement with manufacturer Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc. to support the system once it’s operational, which costs about $300,000, said SMUD spokesman Gamaliel Ortiz, via email.
Based in Reston, Virginia, Electrify America was launched by Volkswagen AG following the carmaker’s emissions scandal.
The Hedge batteries will absorb excess electricity at times of abundance, and discharge power at times of need, like peak periods in the summer.
In 2020, SMUD’s power supply was more than 60% carbon free. Last year, the utility set a goal of 100% renewable by 2030.
