Georgia solar site pairs 128-megawatt battery with panels

Battery stores solar power

A 128-megawatt battery next to a Georgia solar site is now storing electricity produced by 470,000 solar panels. The facility is outside an Air Force base, and the battery is intended to hold daytime power for use on cold winter mornings.

The development links solar generation with storage. Electricity produced while the panels are generating can be held in the battery instead of being used immediately. The project’s reported scale is measured both by the battery’s 128-megawatt capacity and by the number of solar panels at the site.

Nine more batteries approved

Nine additional batteries have been approved in connection with the broader development. Their combined capacity has not been identified in the available description, so the total cannot be calculated from the figures given for the operating battery.

The approvals mark a separate step from the battery already storing power. The existing installation is described as active, while the other nine batteries are described as approved.

What the project shows

The site is an example of solar power being paired with battery storage. The panels produce electricity during daylight hours, while the battery is used to retain that power for a later period. In this case, the later use identified is on cold winter mornings.

The project is located outside an Air Force base, but the base is not identified in the account. No details are given about the battery’s operator, the nine additional batteries’ locations, their construction schedules or the amount of electricity the larger group would store.

Next details to follow

The next public milestones would include identifying the nine approved batteries’ combined capacity and whether they have moved from approval into construction or operation. Additional project details would also clarify how the batteries are connected to the solar site and when stored electricity is used.

The reported account of the Georgia solar-and-storage development is available through the link below.