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Amid industry turmoil, California has been setting new benchmarks for the volume of instantaneous electricity injected into the grid by the state’s battery and solar sites. As the solar and energy storage industries brace for shifting political winds in Washington, DC, California continues to do what it does best: break clean energy records. At 7:45 p.m. (PDT) on May 20, battery systems connected to the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) grid hit a new peak instantaneous electricity output of 10,030 MW, becoming the single largest source of electricity on the grid at that moment and the second-highest peak output of the day, behind solar power generation. On the following day, CAISO set a new renewables generation record of 28,242 MW at 1:05 p.m., even as demand hovered near just 21 GW. The resulting surplus would have been unmanageable without California’s expanded battery fleet, which continues to absorb midday solar power generation and prevent widespread curtailment of excess electricity. |
