GE has signed a supply agreement with Coachella Energy Storage Partners (CESP) to offer a 30-MW battery energy storage system. The 30MW battery solution will be delivered as part of CESP’s supply contract with the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) for an energy generating facility in California’s Imperial Valley, which will aid grid flexibility and increase reliability on the IDD network by providing solar ramping, frequency regulation, power balancing and black start capability for an adjacent gas turbine.

The 30MW battery supply deal marks GE’s third project using its lithium battery technology as well as the largest one to date. GE will provide CESP with an integrated energy storage solution, configured using GE’s Mark VI plant controls, GE Brilliance MW inverters, GE Prolec transformers, medium-voltage switchgear and advanced lithium ion batteries housed in a GE purpose-built enclosure. The plant will be operated by ZGlobal, an engineering collaborator with CESP, for the first 18 months, after which control will transfer to the IID.

“This project is a game changer to the energy industry and will be one of the largest battery storage plants in the western United States,” said Ziad Alaywan, P.E., a California energy veteran and president & CEO of ZGlobal Inc. “We are confident in GE’s technology and look forward to a successful project.”

GE anticipates project construction will begin early next year, with commercial operation scheduled for the third quarter of 2016.