Moss Landing battery project approved
Longtime site of a huge power plant poised to become a global leader in the shift to renewable energy.
A second battery energy storage project has been approved in Moss Landing, positioning the longtime site of a huge power plant as a global leader in the shift to renewable energy.
On Wednesday, the PG&Ebacked Elkhorn Battery Storage Facility was unanimously approved by the Monterey County Planning Commission as the second element of what would be one of the largest energy storage projects in the world.
Located on a 4.5-acre portion of the PG&E substation off Dolan Road and Highway 1, the project will include the installation of 268 Tesla-manufactured Megapack lithium-ion battery units in 17 modules resembling metal storage containers with the capacity to store up to 730-megawatt hours of renewable energy sources during off-peak hours.
The project is the second such initiative at the site after Vistra Energy won planning commission approval in May last year for an even larger, 1,200-megawatt-hour battery energy storage project on the adjacent Dynegy power plant grounds. That project is already under construction, according to county staff.
County planning director Brandon Swanson said Wednesday the PG&E battery storage project would be ready to begin construction after the 10-day appeal period ends and all project conditions are satisfied, adding that he believes the utility will “move quickly” and is ready to start construction “right away.”
As part of its approval, the commission agreed to prohibit any large truck traffic from using Highway 1 during construction given the dangers of entering and exiting the highway at the Dolan Road intersection, and the highway’s failing level of service grade.
PG&E representatives indicated there are plans to work on the project on Saturdays in addition to the original Monday through Friday project work schedule to recover time lost due to project opposition. Associate planner Yasmeen Hussain told the commission the project had been held up for “several months.”
Both battery storage projects were expected to be operational by December, but PG&E representatives did not offer an updated timeline for the utility’s project.
During Wednesday’s hearing, PG&E representatives declined to offer a presentation on the project beyond what county staff provided.
The only public testimony came from local business industry representative Kevin Dayton who advised the commission to ask whether an agreement between PG&E and the project’s main critic, the Monterey Citizens for Responsible Development group led by California Unions for Reliable Energy, included a project labor agreement. The group
had criticized the project’s environmental review last summer on several grounds and called for a full environmental impact report before withdrawing its objections in December after reaching the agreement. Dayton argued that since there was no sign any of the group’s criticisms had been addressed that its opposition was simply a ploy to prompt a project labor agreement.
No one on the commission asked about the allegation, though commissioner Martha Diehl said the group’s original criticisms are part of the record and should have been addressed regardless of whether they were withdrawn. In response, Swanson said staff had reviewed the group’s objection and found none of its criticisms valid.
Also Wednesday, the commission appointed a Native American and Archaeological Resources technical advisory committee and delayed until March 11 consideration of a proposal by the Esalen Institute to add 32 new employee housing units and a common room in four new buildings.