Hydrostor, a global long-duration energy storage (LDES) developer and operator, has achieved multiple key milestones in its journey to construct and commission the Willow Rock Energy Storage Center project in Kern County, California.
Included in these milestones is Hydrostor filing a Supplemental Application for Certification and the execution of the project’s large generator interconnection agreement with Southern California Edison (SCE) and the California Independent System Operator (CAISO).
These announcements demonstrate for Hydrostor that momentum is building for their project and that significant steps are being taken to complete the project on schedule.
We caught up with HydroStor CEO Jon Norman at InterSolar
“We’re excited to be delivering these key milestones in California… which allows us to continue on pace to meet California’s late-decade needs for long-duration energy storage,” said Jon Norman, President of Hydrostor. “This project will provide much-needed storage capacity for the California market, which is becoming even more important as additional renewable generation is added to the grid.”
Once completed, Willow Rock will provide 500 MW – or 8 hours – of dispatchable electrical capacity to the Los Angeles Basin and broader California grid, ensuring reliable long-duration storage capacity and helping prevent future blackouts.
The facility will also be paired with Hydrostor’s Advanced Compressed Air Energy Storage (A-CAES) technology to optimize the use of existing transmission systems. This system will store excess wind and solar energy during periods of low demand and dispatch it back to the grid when renewable sources aren’t available or during peak demand.
In total, the Willow Rock project is projected to bring over $500 million to the regional economy, including 700 direct and indirect jobs during construction. The project will have a 50-year lifespan and employ up to 40 full-time employees once operational.
