More SRP battery storage stations coming online to cover high-demand periods
Salt River Project is bringing online two new battery storage systems in the Valley that can store enough electricity to dispense to tens of thousands of homes during peak demand times.
The two systems — the 250-megawatt Sierra Estrella Energy Storage facility in Avondale and the 90-megawatt Superstition Energy Storage facility in Gilbert — come as the result of a partnership between SRP and Plus Power LLC. Both are charged from the existing power grid, and together, they have enough storage to power 76,000 residential homes for four hours.
Sierra Estrella is Arizona’s largest standalone battery facility, sitting on nine acres off South Avondale Boulevard north of West Broadway Road. Its stored energy will be enough to power more than 56,000 homes for four hours. Construction started on that project in the spring of 2023.
In the East Valley, the Superstition facility is expected to come online next week with capacity that will be able to supply energy to more than 20,000 homes for four hours. It’s located north of the Sunrise Business District, which is at the corner of West Elliot and North McQueen roads.
The two new battery storage locations will bring SRP’s total amount of battery and pumped hydro storage to 1,300 megawatts.
SRP and Houston-based Plus Power announced their collaboration in the fall of 2022, announcing that both facilities will be owned and operated by a Plus Power subsidiary.
“We are proud to partner with SRP to bring the Sierra Estrella and Superstition battery storage projects online to help meet growing summer peak demand, while creating local jobs and tax benefits for Avondale and Gilbert,” Plus Power CEO Brandon Keefe said in a statement.
Plus Power built the projects using Tesla lithium-ion battery technology, according to previous reporting, and it worked with the Avondale and Gilbert fire departments at all stages of the project to prepare emergency response plans.
“We appreciate our partnership with Plus Power to develop these resources, which will provide flexibility and resource diversity to help maintain reliable power during Arizona’s hot summers,” said Jim Pratt, SRP chief executive officer, in a statement. “We are proud to be leading the way with integrating new energy technology to serve our customers.”
The nonprofit SRP serves more than a million customers, primarily in and around the Valley. The utility said it will continue to develop storage technologies as part of its commitment to reduce carbon intensity by more than 82% by 2035 and achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
SRP proposes new Laveen substation
A recent example of those efforts is the opening of the 3,000-acre Sonoran Solar Energy Center in Buckeye near the State Route 85 and Riggs Road alignment. It is able to charge a 1 gigawatt-hour battery energy solar system.
Last fall, SRP’s Pratt said that the utility expects to add 20,000 megawatts of capacity, which will be made up of 90% of renewable technologies.
SRP recently proposed a new substation to handle the increased demand along the South Mountain Freeway to accommodate anticipated growth in the Laveen area of Phoenix.
Growth there and elsewhere in the city — such as the hot area in north Phoenix near the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. plant — has power providers scrambling to be ready for demand.
In May, Ted Geisler, the president of Arizona Public Service, the Valley’s other electricity provider, said that after years of relatively flat electricity demand in the state, APS is projecting a 40% growth in demand in the next eight years alone because of a mass electrification, increased computing demand and industrial reshoring.