The California Energy Commission is preparing to approve a significant reduction in state funding for a long-duration energy storage demonstration project led by Form Energy. According to the commission’s Sept. 9 meeting packet, the planned third amendment to the existing agreement would cut state financial support by $8.33 million and decrease the project's scale by one-third. This demonstration, located at PG&E’s Mendocino Substation, aims to advance energy storage technology.
The details outlined in the packet specify that Amendment 3 to agreement LDS-22-004 would lower the commission's grant from an initial $25 million to $16,666,667. This substantial adjustment reflects a recalibration of the project's financial commitment from the state. The agreement's amendment directly impacts the resources available for the innovative energy storage system.
In tandem with the financial reduction, the physical scope of the project is also set to diminish. The packet indicates that the demonstration will be scaled down from its original design of 1.5 megawatts and 150 megawatt-hours to a revised capacity of 1.0 megawatt and 100 megawatt-hours. Despite this reduction in size and power capacity, the project remains designated as a demonstration, continuing its role in testing new energy storage solutions at PG&E’s Mendocino Substation. The ongoing nature of its demonstration status underscores its purpose in exploring the viability and application of long-duration energy storage technologies.
Further details in the commission packet address environmental considerations associated with this amendment. Commission staff are slated to adopt specific CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) findings that are directly tied to the proposed changes. For the environmental review process, the commission intends to rely on the prior environmental assessment conducted for the project. This includes the initial study and mitigated negative declaration, both from 2023. Based on these existing findings and the scope of the amendment, no new environmental impacts are expected beyond those previously identified and addressed in the 2023 review.
However, the materials provided in the Sept. 9 meeting packet do not offer an explanation for why the Form Energy project is undergoing this reduction in both funding and scale. The reasons behind this decision by the California Energy Commission were not detailed in the public record available. Moreover, the packet's section for recording a vote appears blank, suggesting that while the commission is preparing for this action, the final formal approval process has yet to be publicly recorded. Consequently, the ultimate outcome and the specific details of the commission’s vote will require confirmation through official meeting minutes or a transcript from the proceedings.
