The City of Goleta is proud to welcome the newest battery storage facility in California which is also now the largest power source in Santa Barbara County. GridStor, a developer and operator of grid-scale battery energy storage systems, dedicated its Goleta Energy Storage facility on December 1st with public officials and regional business leaders. Following opening remarks, there was a ceremonial “flipping the switch” moment to represent turning on the battery facility – watch it here.
The 60 MW / 160 MWh lithium-ion Goleta Energy Storage facility will power the equivalent of 30,000 households – enough to supply electricity to all of Goleta’s residential customer base – every day through the hours of greatest demand on the electric system.
“Goleta became a more resilient city today, with the dedication of GridStor’s storage batteries to our grid,” said Goleta Mayor Paula Perotte. “We are committed to our renewable energy goals, and this facility brings us that much closer to a day where we will rely predominately on wind and solar and have less need for the traditional gas-powered plant that has historically served us locally.”
“California has an urgent need for grid reliability as it decarbonizes its economy, and battery storage is the critical resource that meets both challenges,” said Chris Taylor, CEO of GridStor. “The transition to clean energy takes the support of many partners, from developers and utilities to skilled tradespeople and the local leadership who oversee zoning and permitting. We could not be prouder to work with the City of Goleta and other stakeholders to bring this facility to life and support California’s goals for clean, reliable energy.”
The Goleta Energy Storage facility not only supports the existing 900 MW of wind and solar power operating in the region but also assists with maintaining grid reliability during the planned build out of thousands of megawatts of additional renewable energy projects over the next decade. GridStor will provide resource adequacy services from the facility to Southern California Edison under a contract while operating the facility in response to market signals from the California Independent System Operator.
The 44 emission-free containerized Tesla batteries installed at the GridStor facility were manufactured in-state in Lathrop, California. NORD/LB provided $55 million of project debt financing to GridStor to complete the development of the facility.
For more info go to www.gridstor.com.
Pictured above: Mayor Pro Tempore Kyle Richards flips the switch at the event
Goleta City Council and Staff – Pictured left-to-right: Supervising Senior Planner Kathy Allen, Planning and Environmental Review Director Peter Imhof, Councilmember Stuart Kasdin, Mayor Pro Tempore Kyle Richards, District 1 Councilmember Luz Reyes-Martín, District 2 Councilmember James Kyriaco, Sustainability Manager Dana Murray, and Sustainability Analyst Angeline Foshay
Aerial view of Goleta Energy Storage facility