Canadian Solar Plans California Battery to Help Distressed Grid

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian Solar Inc. is planning to install a 600 megawatt-hour battery next summer in California to help keep the lights on with the state facing ongoing heat waves and wildfires.

The solar company’s subsidiary, Recurrent Energy LLC, signed a 15-year agreement with PG&E Corp. to provide energy storage starting in the summer of 2022, according to a statement on Tuesday. The deal is in response to the California Public Utilities Commission’s call on utilities to prepare for extreme weather in the summer of 2021 and 2022, said Recurrent.

California has struggled to avoid blackouts during a summer of intense heat and blazes. The climate disasters have pushed up demand for air conditioning just as a long-lasting drought has depleted reservoirs needed for hydropower. Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency less than two weeks ago to free up energy supplies and speed development of new power plants.

Earlier this year, Southern California Edison also signed a long-term energy storage contract with Recurrent Energy for a 800 megawatt-hour project in Riverside County. In July, Canadian Solar landed its first battery storage project in Latin America.

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