first published week of: 12/15/2014
The power shortages, brown-outs, and rolling blackouts that have long plagued Los Angeles county during times of peak energy usage may soon be a thing of the past now that the region's energy utility has signed on with battery-maker AES Southland to install a massive, 400MW auxiliary power solution.
Currently, when peak energy demand outstrips production in Los Angeles, Southern California Edison has to turn on a series of "gas peaker" plants. These facilities largely consist of outdated gas turbines that take longer to spool up and run less efficiently than the more modern turbines they're meant to augment. That's partly why utility customers have to pay through the nose to use their appliances during peak hours. But the AES battery system—which will be installed at the Alamitos Power Center—takes the opposite approach. continued…