The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has given its approval for a project in Kern County, California, which aims to construct a storage system. The project is projected to contribute 150 megawatts of electricity to the California power grid and have the capacity to store up to 1,200 megawatt hours.

The Alta Wind Energy Center, situated in the Tehachapi-Mojave region north of Los Angeles, forms part of a wind farm developed by Terra-Gen Power, as reported by Power Engineers. The company not only designed the Alta Wind Energy Center but also assisted with compliance with North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) standards and significantly reduced carbon emissions by over five million metric tons.

According to the BLM’s National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) register, the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) facility would cover 20 acres of public land; an additional three acres would be needed for a storage yard and temporary lay down area. The batteries for the BESS are likely to be lithium-ion and will be housed in a climate-controlled container; these containers will be white or light-colored to enhance battery storage performance.

The project is anticipated to span a total of 25 acres within an existing right of way for the Alta Wind Facility, as stated in the Feb. 29 news release announcing project approval.

Gordon Toevs, acting California state director for the BLM, said: "Battery energy storage projects like Alta Wind support the delivery of reliable and increasingly clean energy to consumers. The BLM continues to advance clean energy development and enhance America’s energy security."

A document in the NEPA register reveals that the right of way where the BESS facility is located has been in existence since 2007 when a decision of record was issued for the Oak Creek Proper Energy Project Environmental Assessment. Four years later, an amended grant of a right-of-way was made to Alta Wind 1 LLC, for the construction, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning of this project.

The document also indicates that the Alta 1 Wind facility is one of several phases of the project. In December 2023, Alta BESS LLC requested construction, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning of a new project - a BESS up to 150 megawatts within the existing boundaries of the Alta Wind 1 project.