World's first battery storage and gas turbine system revealed
Electricity providers General Electric and Southern California Edison have revealed the world’s first battery storage and gas turbine hybrid system. The solution will resolve storage issues caused by regulations that have been introduced since the Aliso Canyon gas leak. The system will be installed in two steps: first, GE will install a battery energy storage system from Current, then upgrades to a GE LM6000 gas turbine will be made to combine the two systems. The hybrid system will offer grid support at lower costs and a smaller GHG footprint than other resources, and will be operational by the early 2017.

General Electric (GE) and Southern California Edison (SCE) have announced a plan to install the world’s first battery storage and gas turbine hybrid system. According to GE, the solution answers a critical need for Southern California, where regulations on natural gas usage and storage are changing in the wake of the state’s Aliso Canyon energy crisis.

The two-project solution first requires the installation of a battery energy storage system from Current (powered by GE), followed by upgrades to a GE LM6000 gas turbine to integrate the two systems.

The LM6000 Hybrid EGT product integrates a 10MW battery energy storage system with an aeroderivative gas turbine, with control system upgrades provided by GE’s Power Services. The system will allow the turbine to operate in standby mode without using fuel and enable immediate response to changing energy dispatch needs. By eliminating the need to constantly run the turbines at minimum loads to maintain spinning reserves, the hybrid system will save fuel, reduce maintenance costs and cut down on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, according to GE.

Furthermore, the hybrid system offers ancillary and grid support at a lower cost and smaller GHG footprint than traditional resources, and can provide 50MW of GHG-free spinning reserve, flexible capacity, and peaking energy; 25MW of high-quality regulation; and 10MVA of reactive voltage support and primary frequency response when not online.

The battery energy storage system is expected to be installed and operational by the end of 2016, and the updated and integrated turbine controls are expected to be operational by early 2017.

In the wake of the Aliso Canyon gas leak, Tesla will also be providing a 20MW/80MWh Powerpack system at the Southern California Edison Mira Loma substation. Once complete, this system will be the largest lithium-ion battery storage project in the world.