MOSS LANDING, Calif.,
Aug. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/
-- Vistra (NYSE: VST) recently completed construction on Phase
II of its Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility. The battery system
is now storing power and releasing it to California's grid when it is needed. The
100-megawatt expansion now brings the facility's total capacity to
400 megawatts/1,600 megawatt-hours, making it the largest of its
kind in the world.
(MEDIA KIT, including photos, b-roll,
interviews, and more, is available here.)
"This facility provides a solution California desperately needs and this
expansion was able to come online at the right time – as the summer
heat intensifies and demand for electricity is at its highest. It
is possible because of the partnership between Vistra and the
State of California, Pacific Gas
and Electric Company, LG Energy Solution, and Burns &
McDonnell," said Curt Morgan, chief
executive officer at Vistra. "The state's laudable immense buildout
of intermittent renewable power has both lowered emissions and
presented a reliability challenge. California produces an excess amount of
renewable power during the day while the sun is up, but often
struggles to meet demand as the sun goes down. Our Moss Landing battery system helps to fill that
reliability gap, storing the excess daytime power so it doesn't go
to waste and then releasing it to the grid when it's needed
most."
Announced just 15 months ago with construction starting in
September 2020, the Phase II
expansion project was completed in July
2021, ahead of schedule despite the many challenges
presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Utilizing technology from LG Energy Solution, Vistra's enormous
lithium-ion battery system is co-located on the site of its
existing Moss Landing Power Plant in Monterey County, a site that's been providing
electricity to Californians since 1950. Burns & McDonnell
provided engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) expertise
for the expansion.
Morgan continued, "What's great about this particular site is
that it has the space to support even further expansion – up to
1,500 MW/6,000 MWh – while responsibly utilizing our existing site
infrastructure, including existing transmission lines and grid
interconnection. California leads
the country in the transition away from fossil fuels and the Moss
Landing Energy Storage Facility stands as a model for how batteries
can support intermittent renewables to help create a reliable grid
of the future."
The 100-MW/400-MWh Phase II expansion is operating under a
10-year resource adequacy agreement with Pacific Gas and
Electric Company (PG&E). The 300-MW/1,200-MWh Phase I project
has a similar 20-year resource adequacy agreement with
PG&E.
Vistra is a market-leader in battery energy storage and in 2020
announced it would spend approximately $5
billion by 2030 in renewable and battery energy storage,
including nearly $1 billion of
development projects already underway, rotating its generation
fleet towards zero-emission technologies. Moss Landing is the flagship project of the
company's carbon-free Vistra Zero portfolio of generation
assets.
Support for Vistra Moss Landing Energy Storage
Facility
Congressman Jimmy Panetta:
"As California and the Central Coast derive more and more of our
energy from renewable resources, storage is key for ensuring that
power is available when the sun isn't shining, and the wind isn't
blowing. The energy storage facility that Vistra is deploying in
Moss Landing will help us build a
more reliable, low-emission grid, providing zero-emission power to
communities far and wide when they need it. As we face the
increasing threat of wildfires and disruptions to our grid, this
backup power can serve to bolster our grid's stability and
reliability."
State Senator John
Laird: "California
has committed itself to a renewable energy future and the Central
Coast is the perfect example of how to transition former fossil
fuel plants to renewable energy centers. Vistra's Moss
Landing Energy Storage Facility is a testament to that bright
future. Developing battery storage in conjunction with wind and
solar energy will ensure reliable, clean energy for decades to
come."
Monterey County Supervisor
John M. Phillips: "When people
think about Moss Landing energy,
they usually envision the landmark power plant and its two tall
smokestacks. In fact, Vistra's Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility
is the largest battery storage facility of its kind in the world
and is providing a tremendous amount of reliable, clean energy.
Vistra continues to be an outstanding community partner and
reliable steward of the historic Moss Landing Power Plant."
Mark Rothleder, senior vice
president and chief operating officer, California Independent
System Operator: "This facility and others like it will
show California and the world what
lithium-ion battery storage can accomplish. It will help us keep
the lights on this summer and summers to come."
Jason Glickman, executive vice
president of Engineering, Planning & Strategy, Pacific Gas and
Electric Company: "Together we are ushering in a new era of
electric system reliability and delivering a vision into the future
for our customers with the commissioning of the Vistra Moss Landing
energy storage facility. We are committed to safely delivering
reliable and clean energy in a way that achieves the greatest value
for our customers, but we can't go it alone into this clean energy
future. Projects like this require great partners, such as Vistra,
and PG&E will continue to seek out and work with the best and
brightest to provide breakthrough clean energy solutions for our
customers."
Youngjoon Shin, senior vice
president of ESS Business, LG Energy Solution: "As more
intermittent resources integrate into power grids, the role of
battery energy storage in supplying energy and ensuring grid
reliability becomes even more important. On this note, Vistra's
effort towards transitioning to emission-free energy is vital, and
LG Energy Solution hopes to make the transition a reality through
advanced lithium-ion battery technology. As the world's largest
energy storage facility, Moss
Landing is especially meaningful as it shows the dedication
of both LG Energy Solution and Vistra to expanding eco-friendly
renewable energy sources through energy storage technology."
Ray Kowalik, chairman and CEO,
Burns & McDonnell: "This was truly an amazing project for
everyone involved. Designing and building the expansion of the
world's largest battery energy storage facility – particularly
during a global pandemic – was very fulfilling. Renewable resources
cannot be fully deployed unless we have a massive investment in
energy storage like the Moss
Landing facility. We are honored to partner with Vistra on
such an iconic project that will help provide reliable power to the
residents in the region."
About Vistra
Vistra (NYSE: VST) is a leading Fortune 275 integrated retail
electricity and power generation company based in Irving, Texas, providing essential resources
for customers, commerce, and communities. Vistra combines an
innovative, customer-centric approach to retail with safe,
reliable, diverse, and efficient power generation. The company
brings its products and services to market in 20 states and the
District of Columbia, including
six of the seven competitive wholesale markets in the U.S. and
markets in Canada and Japan, as well. Serving nearly 4.3 million
residential, commercial, and industrial retail customers with
electricity and natural gas, Vistra is one of the largest
competitive electricity providers in the country and offers over 50
renewable energy plans. The company is also the largest competitive
power generator in the U.S. with a capacity of approximately 39,000
megawatts powered by a diverse portfolio, including natural gas,
nuclear, solar, and battery energy storage facilities. In addition,
Vistra is a large purchaser of wind power. The company owns and
operates a 400-MW/1,600-MWh battery energy storage system in
Moss Landing, California, the
largest of its kind in the world. Vistra is guided by four core
principles: we do business the right way, we work as a team, we
compete to win, and we care about our stakeholders, including our
customers, our communities where we work and live, our employees,
and our investors. Learn more about our environmental, social, and
governance efforts and read the company's sustainability report at
https://www.vistracorp.com/sustainability/.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
The information presented herein includes
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking
statements, which are based on current expectations, estimates and
projections about the industry and markets in which Vistra Corp.
("Vistra") operates and beliefs of and assumptions made by Vistra's
management, involve risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to
predict and are not guarantees of future performance, that could
significantly affect the financial results of Vistra. All
statements, other than statements of historical facts, that are
presented herein, or in response to questions or otherwise, that
address activities, events or developments that may occur in the
future, including such matters as activities related to our
financial or operational projections, the potential impacts of the
COVID-19 pandemic on our results of operations, financial condition
and cash flows, projected synergy, value lever and net debt
targets, capital allocation, capital expenditures, liquidity,
projected Adjusted EBITDA to free cash flow conversion rate,
dividend policy, business strategy, competitive strengths, goals,
future acquisitions or dispositions, development or operation of
power generation assets, market and industry developments and the
growth of our businesses and operations (often, but not always,
through the use of words or phrases, or the negative variations of
those words or other comparable words of a future or
forward-looking nature, including, but not limited to: "intends,"
"plans," "will likely," "unlikely," "believe," "confident",
"expect," "seek," "anticipate," "estimate," "continue," "will,"
"shall," "should," "could," "may," "might," "predict," "project,"
"forecast," "target," "potential," "goal," "objective," "guidance"
and "outlook"),are forward-looking statements. Readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements. Although Vistra believes that in making any such
forward-looking statement, Vistra's expectations are based on
reasonable assumptions, any such forward-looking statement involves
uncertainties and risks that could cause results to differ
materially from those projected in or implied by any such
forward-looking statement, including, but not limited to: (i)
adverse changes in general economic or market conditions (including
changes in interest rates) or changes in political conditions or
federal or state laws and regulations; (ii) the ability of Vistra
to execute upon its contemplated strategic, capital allocation,
performance, and cost-saving initiatives and to successfully
integrate acquired businesses; (iii) actions by credit ratings
agencies; (iv) the severity, magnitude and duration of pandemics,
including the COVID-19 pandemic, and the resulting effects on our
results of operations, financial condition and cash flows; (v) the
severity, magnitude and duration of extreme weather events
(including winter storm Uri), contingencies and uncertainties
relating thereto, most of which are difficult to predict and many
of which are beyond our control, and the resulting effects on our
results of operations, financial condition and cash flows; and (vi)
those additional risks and factors discussed in reports filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission by Vistra from time to time,
including the uncertainties and risks discussed in the sections
entitled "Risk Factors" and "Forward-Looking Statements" in
Vistra's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, and any subsequently filed
quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.
Any forward-looking statement speaks only at the date on which
it is made, and except as may be required by law, Vistra will not
undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to
reflect events or circumstances after the date on which it is made
or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. New factors
emerge from time to time, and it is not possible to predict all of
them; nor can Vistra assess the impact of each such factor or the
extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause
results to differ materially from those contained in any
forward-looking statement.
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/vistra-completes-expansion-of-battery-energy-storage-system-at-its-flagship-california-facility-301359236.html
SOURCE Vistra Corp.