Construction work on one of the biggest battery storage facilities in the US, Nova Power Bank, is almost complete at the site formerly utilized as a natural-gas fired power plant in Menifee, southwest of Riverside County. The battery storage project saw the launch of its first batteries on-site in 2024, with US-based, Calpine Corporation, expected to finalize and fully-unveil the completed facility by end of 2025.
The trailblazing Nova Power Bank battery energy storage project is being constructed in a total of five phases. Upon completion of all the phases this year, the Nova Power Bank battery energy storage facility will store enough power to keep upwards of 680,000 homes supplied with power for a duration of up to four hours.
Project Contractor
Houston-based Calpine is overseeing the construction of Nova Power Bank on the 43 acres site located near Interstate 15 and State Route 74.
Calpine’s Senior VP for the West, Alex Makler, also expressed enthusiasm in the project days following earlier marked progress. “Calpine is spearheading the electric generation infrastructure in California and the whole country. The investments in upgrading the infrastructure of our energy are critical for achieving the dual objectives of both the grid dependability and climate sustainability.”, Alex remarked.
The senior VP also emphasized on Nova’s plight for active community inclusion in the project. This was especially so with the on-boarding of the Project Labor Agreement. “The ambitious goals of California need a workforce that is both resilient and diverse to drive forward the progress of the clean energy vision of our state.”, Alex said. “Calpine is indeed very proud to partner with the Menifee community and our trade labor partners so as to ensure the launching of this cutting-edge battery energy storage project.”, he added.
Additionally, to up-beat the mood, the company also hosted lunch for 100 workers who were on-site for the project after its launch. Also noteworthy are those included in the receiving end of this project. They include: Southern California Edison, Penisula Clean Energy, and San Diego Gas & Electric.
Significance of the Nova Power Bank
Battery energy storage facilities like the Nova Power Bank in Menifee basically store excess amounts of energy capacities during seasons of high supply and low consumer demand. They later on supply the stored energy during times when consumer demand is high, and supply relatively low. This will also include the hot summer afternoons and cold winter nights. Once connected to the grid, the batteries sustain grid reliability, rate stability, and avoiding service disruption in the region.
Calpine has approximately more than 2,000 megawatts (2GW) of battery storage in development in California. This ranks it as one of the largest BESS market shareholders in the U.S., ultimately reflecting ambition and market leadership.
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