[Micele]

California already gets about 8% of its power from solar and 9% from wind. This month, the legislature is voting on a 100% renewable target; if passed, the opportunity for storage to move that power around will grow.

Grid batteries offer a tantalising longer term application, displacing the gas plants needed to quickly meet peak electricity demand.

Batteries like those in Escondido deliver power instantaneously, but unlike a gas plant they emit no greenhouse gases or air pollution on-site. That makes them easy to slip into populated urban areas, where electricity users are clustered.

That ease of gaining permission and of construction made it possible for California to deal with the Aliso Canyon shortfall in months rather than the years needed for traditional gas plant construction.

“This is unprecedented speed for power infrastructure – it’s unheard of,” Aggarwal said. “If future projects can match this timeline – or even beat it – as grid storage prices continue to plummet, owners of old power plants should be shaking in their boots.”