From 40 MWh to 4.5 GWh: Building Battery Storage at Scale

Aerial view of a utility-scale battery energy storage site in a desert setting, with rows of white battery enclosures in the foreground and a large solar array in the background. Overlay text reads: “BESS Journey” and “From 40 MWh to 4.5 GWh.” Mountains are visible in the distance under a blue sky.

California’s battery storage fleet recently surpassed 21 GW of installed capacity, marking another milestone in the rapid growth of energy storage. In less than a decade, battery storage has grown from an emerging technology to a critical component of the electric grid, helping improve reliability and support the increasing use of renewable energy. California’s installed battery capacity has expanded from less than 700 MW in 2019 to more than 21,000 MW today.

Growth like that is only possible through the collective efforts of utilities, developers, manufacturers, engineers, contractors, and skilled craft professionals working across the energy industry.

From 40 MWh to 4.5 GWh

Since entering the utility-scale battery energy storage market in 2021, BEI has participated in projects representing more than 4.5 GWh of energy storage capacity and nearly 1,450 battery enclosures across the western United States.

The numbers tell an important story. Our journey began with a 10 MW / 40 MWh battery storage project. Today, BEI’s portfolio includes utility-scale, commercial, healthcare, education, and public-sector energy storage facilities, ranging from smaller behind-the-meter systems to some of the largest battery projects in the region.

One example of this evolution is the Reid Gardner Battery Energy Storage System in Moapa, Nevada. Built in partnership with Energy Vault for NV Energy, on the site of the former Reid Gardner coal-fired generating station, the project transformed a historic energy site into a 220 MW / 440 MWh battery storage facility featuring 208 battery enclosures. The existing electrical substation was preserved and integrated into the project, connecting the site’s energy past with its future.

Just as solar has changed the way electricity is generated, battery storage is changing how that energy is managed. BESS is attracting billions of dollars in investment and becoming an increasingly common feature of new energy infrastructure projects. Based on the pace of development over the last several years, battery storage shows no signs of slowing down.

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