Three new battery energy storage system (BESS) projects from the US that may not individually make headlines for their relative size, but nonetheless prove the value and flexibility of batteries for the grid.

California’s recent droughts and ongoing need to economise water use have inspired more commercial energy storage at a local water board, with ENGIE Storage delivering a project for the San Diego Water Authority.

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) announced Wednesday that it has selected Doosan GridTech and its partner, KTY Engineering, to provide LADWP’s first battery energy storage system (BESS) with a capacity of 20MW at its Beacon Solar Plant in Kern County, California.

South Korean industrial group Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction has self-executed a solar-plus-storage project at its head offices in Changwon, using this and other projects on its own premises as a learning curve for external projects.

An agreement to construct a 20MW lithium-ion battery energy storage system (BESS) has been approved by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), which would reduce reliance on natural gas generation.