California, Viejas Tribal Officials to Announce $31 Million Long-Duration Energy Storage Project

For Immediate Release: October 31, 2022

WHAT: Press event to announce approval of a $31 million grant for Indian Energy to deploy a 60 megawatt-hour long-duration energy storage battery system that will provide 100 percent renewable back-up power to sustain critical operations for the Viejas Tribe of Kumeyaay Indians in the event of a grid emergency.

The project, which is funded by one of the largest state grants ever awarded to benefit a Tribal government, will help demonstrate the performance and potential of long-duration energy storage systems as the state transitions to 100 percent clean electricity.  

WHO: 

• Representative, Viejas Tribe of Kumeyaay Indians 
• Representative, Indian Energy 
• Christina Snider, Tribal Affairs Secretary to Governor Gavin Newsom 
• Chair David Hochschild, California Energy Commission  
• Geneva Thompson, Assistant Secretary for Tribal Affairs, California Natural Resources Agency 

WHERE:   

In-person: 5000 Willows Road, Alpine, CA 91901 

Streaming: Live streaming on CEC YouTube Channel

WHEN:

Thursday, November 3, 2022 

9:30 a.m. Arrival 

10 a.m. Speaking Program 

VISUALS:

Presentation of $31 million dollar check, Indian Energy project poster and Viejas Energy Vision poster on easels. 

WHY:  

Approved as part of the 2022-23 State Budget, the Long-Duration Energy Storage Program will provide $140 million for innovative energy storage systems that support grid reliability and the state’s transition to 100 percent clean electricity.  

Long duration energy storage can provide up to 10 hours of power compared with battery storage technology which provides an average of 4 hours of power. Energy storage is a critical piece of the state’s energy mix, soaking up excess renewables available during the day for use at peak hours when the sun sets and solar resources decline. More than 4,000 MW of battery storage is currently installed in California ISO territory. The state projects more than 48 GW of battery storage and 4 GW of long duration storage will be needed by 2045.  

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