Benzinga | Apr 1, 2021 06:31AM EDT

Ormat Commences Commercial Operation of the 10 MW/ 40 MWh Vallecito Battery Energy Storage Facility in California

Ormat Technologies, Inc.1 (NYSE:ORA) today announced the commercial operation of the 10 MW/40 MWh Vallecito Battery Energy Storage System (Vallecito BESS). The Vallecito BESS provides local resource adequacy to Southern California Edison (SCE) under a 20-year energy storage resource adequacy agreement. In addition, the facility will provide ancillary services and energy optimization through participation in merchant markets run by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO).



The Vallecito BESS is Ormat's second operating BESS facility in California with one more project under construction and multiple other projects in various stages of development.

"The Vallecito BESS facility will provide resiliency to the Goleta area and it will also help enhance the overall reliability of the grid as California transitions to 100% emissions-free renewable energy," said William Walsh, SCE vice president of Energy Procurement & Management.

"We brought together best-in-class products, services and engineering talent to deliver a battery energy storage system that provides much needed local capacity, ancillary services and energy optimization to the region's power grid," commented Doron Blachar, Ormat's Chief Executive Officer. "Vallecito represents our seventh operating BESS facility in the US and underscores our strategy to develop, own and operate energy storage facilities in several key US markets, including California, New Jersey (part of the PJM Interconnect), Texas and Vermont (part of the ISO New England). Ormat is committed to be an active participant in California's effort to achieve its goal of 100% carbon-free electricity by 2045 through massive deployment of renewable energy and energy storage resources. We are pleased to expand our decades-long relationship with SCE with this latest resource, and look forward to continuing to leverage our proven development and operations capabilities to provide load serving entities and grid operators with the expertise to enhance grid performance, stability and responsiveness -- while delivering capacity where it is needed the most."