Canadian energy company AltaGas has won a 10-year deal with Southern California Edison (SCE) for 20MW/80MWh of energy storage on the site of its natural gas plant in Pomona, in southern California.

AltaGas has appointed Greensmith Energy as the software provider and system integrator for the new system, which is expected to cost US$40-US$45 million, and will be among the largest battery storage projects in North America when it goes live in December.

AltaGas will provide SCE with 20MW of resource capacity for a continuous four-hour period, the equivalent of 80MWh of discharging capacity. AltaGas will receive fixed monthly resource adequacy payments, and retain the rights to earn additional revenue from the energy produced by the lithium-ion batteries.

David Harris, president and chief executive at AltaGas, said: “Adding battery storage to our California power portfolio proves the versatility of our asset base and greatly enhances the value of what we can offer the California and Desert Southwest markets through integrated energy centres providing clean reliable electricity.”

John Jung, president and chief executive at Greensmith, said his company focuses on advanced, mission-critical energy storage technologies for both grid-scale and behind-the-meter applications.

“Over the past eight years, the successful execution of this strategy along with an unparalleled track-record of safe, reliable and timely project completion, has helped us gain the confidence of innovative leaders,” he said.

AltaGas owns six natural gas-fired power plants in California. The SCE deal is its first for energy storage.