They don't look like much — 126 cubes, each holding 16 modules of batteries — simply sitting on an expanse of flat land owned by San Diego Gas & Electric off Route 163.
But it's no exaggeration to say that California's hopes of decarbonizing its power system depend on developing a vast number of utility-scale energy storage facilities across the state, such as the one SDG&E opened earlier this month in Kearny Mesa.
"We have a goal to be net-zero of carbon emissions by 2045," said Scott Crider, SDG&E's senior vice president of customer services and external affairs, "and technologies like battery storage are going to be a central component of reaching that goal."
