Energy & Science
Batteries Are Helping California Make Up for Lost Hydro Power
- Report finds batteries replaced some power lost to drought
- Public conservation has helped, but sometimes not by much
Lithium-ion batteries at the LS Power Group Gateway Energy Storage project in Otay Mesa, California.
Photographer: Bing Guan/Bloomberg
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Big batteries plugged into California’s grid have helped make up for some, but not all, of the hydroelectric power the state has lost to the ongoing drought, according to a report Monday.
With California reservoirs running low, hydropower production in June was 670 megawatts lower than a year earlier, according to the report from the California Independent System Operator, which runs most of the state’s electrical grid. Large-scale batteries added in the 12 months compensated for about two-thirds of that lost power, providing 460 megawatts.