West Ford Flat Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) - Geysers Power Company
Summary
SCH Number
2020100416
Public Agency
Lake County
Document Title
West Ford Flat Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) - Geysers Power Company
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
10/23/2020
Present Land Use
Geothermal Power
Document Description
The Minor Modification of Use Permit (MMU 20-07) applies to the existing Major Use Permit (UP 87-41) and Use Permit Extension (UPX 18-01) and modifies the existing use permit to allow the installation of a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) within the existing West Ford Flat facility. The Geysers Power Company (GPC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Calpine Corporation, has been optimizing operations to adapt to the changes in the wholesale power market and needs of the California electric grid. In an attempt to address grid volatility, the State is promoting the development of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) as they can accept and store power when the grid is oversupplied and later provide power back to the grid in times of higher demand. There will be no expansion of the power plant site as the battery storage unit will be installed within the existing facility fence line. The output generation from the batteries would not exceed the current permit capacity. Additionally, there will be no expansion of the authorized use under the existing permits, nor any change to any of the terms and conditions of the existing permits. The West Ford Flat Energy Storage would be approximately a 25MW, 4-hour system using lithium-ion battery technology and will have the ability to provide energy shifting and other services, such as regulating voltage for protection of the grid. Direct current (DC) Li-Ion batteries and an associated battery management system will be “containerized” in various modules along with an HVAC system to maintain ideal operating temperatures
Contact Information
Name
Tracy Cline
Agency Name
County of Lake Community Development Department
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Name
Agency Name
Geysers Power Company
Contact Types
Project Applicant
Location
Cities
Clearlake, Lakeport, Middletown
Counties
Lake
Cross Streets
10350 Socrates Mine Road
Zip
95461
Parcel #
013-005-07, 013-005-15, 013-005-46, 013-005-47, 013-005-48, 013-005-49, 013-005-50
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Class 1 Existing Facilities - 15301 (b)
Reasons for Exemption
Class 1 – Existing Facilities. The West Ford Flat Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project is exempt because it is an existing facility with no or negligible expansion of use. The BESS will simply store excess energy to have available when there is high demand on the grid.
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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