A Folsom renewable energy company is planning to build two grid-connected battery storage systems near Placerville and Pollock Pines.
The two 5-megawatt units proposed by Apex Energy Solutions LLC would take excess power off the grid during times of low electric use for release from a series of Tesla Megapack batteries during times of high demand.
This type of battery can be used to shift power use, increase capacity or to provide voltage support, said Herve Pare, director of project development services with ZGlobal Inc., a Folsom-based power engineering and consulting firm working to get permits for Apex.
“It’s a grid balancing act,” he said.
The proposed Stella Battery Storage site in Pollock Pines is on Pony Express Trail near the intersection of Forebay Road. The Fuji Battery Storage site is in an unincorporated section of the county near Placerville on Newtown Road near Broadway. The two projects will go before the El Dorado County Zoning Administrator for approvals Wednesday.
The El Dorado Irrigation District has submitted a comment to the Zoning Administrator, expressing concern that the Stella Battery Storage project site is next to and upslope from the El Dorado Canal, which supplies drinking water to about 125,000 residents of the county.
“Recent fires at battery storage facilities in California highlight potential safety issues associated with this relatively new technology. Fires and subsequent hazardous material discharges from the facility itself or fire suppression materials used to respond to an emergency could enter the district's water conveyance facilities compromising its ability to provide safe and reliable drinking water to its customers,” said the comment letter from Patrick Wilson, drinking water operations manager with the district. “Given the potential health and safety hazards associated with the proposed project, the district requests the county ensure that the proposed project is constructed to the most rigorous fire safety and containment standards.”
Both of the projects would be comprised of six Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) Megapack AC modular battery storage systems, which are each 23 feet long and 8 feet high.
A megawatt is enough electricity to power about 750 homes. These two projects combined would be enough to power about 7,500 homes for four hours.
