State boosts critical battery storage project at Camp Pendleton with $42 million investment

SACRAMENTO – California is boosting battery storage projects across the state – an important part of the state’s transition to 100% clean electricity.

California today approved a $42 million grant to International Electric Power to build a long-duration energy storage project at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in San Diego County. The project will provide electricity to the statewide grid and backup power to the base for up to 14 days in the event of power outages. The installation will help enhance the resiliency of California’s electricity grid, the region, and the base, providing a replicable model that can be applied broadly.

The California Energy Commission’s award is part of the state’s Long-Duration Energy Storage Program, funded by Governor Gavin Newsom’s historic multi-billion-dollar commitment to combat climate change. The program invests in demonstrations of non-lithium-ion technologies across the state to create a diverse portfolio of 8-hour-plus energy storage technologies. This is the largest grant awarded under the program.

Adding more battery storage is a critical part of the Governor’s build more, faster agenda delivering infrastructure upgrades throughout the state. Find projects building your community at build.ca.gov. 

The project, to be installed at the Camp Pendleton’s Haybarn Energy Reliability Center, will initially provide 6 megawatts (MW)/48 megawatt hours (MWh) of long-duration energy storage. Plans call for the system to later be expanded to a 50 MW/400 MWh installation.

As part of the Haybarn Energy Reliability Center, the project awarded today will help support the Marine Corps’ largest West Coast expeditionary training facility, encompassing more than 125,000 acres in San Diego County. The base is one of the Department of Defense’s busiest installations, offering a broad spectrum of training facilities for active and reserve Marine, Army, and Navy units as well as national, state, and local agencies. It supports more than 70,000 military and civilian personnel and their families.

It is expected to be operational in summer 2027 and will help support grid reliability, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by replacing fossil fuel powered back-up generation, and demonstrate solutions that can be scaled and replicated to meet the state’s climate and clean energy goals.

California’s clean energy leadership 

The state is projected to need 52,000 MW of energy storage capacity by 2045. Today, it’s a quarter of the way there. Typical battery storage, which mostly encompasses lithium-ion technology, has an industry standard of 2 to 4 hours of discharge. Long-duration energy storage can currently provide power for up to 100 hours.

California has more than 13,300 MW of battery storage installed today. Within the past six years, the state has grown its battery storage capacity by more than 15 times, up from just 770 MW in 2019.

The recent surge in battery storage has significantly enhanced California’s ability to maintain grid stability during extreme weather. Throughout the summer of 2024, battery storage reliably discharged to support the grid during the net peak hours – a critical stretch of the day when the sun sets and solar resources rapidly go offline.

Battery storage discharge to the grid increased from 6,000 MW this spring to more than 8,000 MW this summer.