Developer Hydrostor has received a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee to help fund a 500MW long-duration energy storage project in California.
The loan guarantee is up to $1.76bn with the Department of Energy’s (DoE) Clean Energy Financing Program, including approximately $1.5bn of principal and approximately $280m of capitalised interest.
Once finalised, the loan guarantee will help to fund the Willow Rock Energy Storage Center, a 500MW/4000MWh advanced compressed air energy storage (A-CAES) project to be built in Rosamond, that will provide more than eight hours of back-up power to California’s grid.
“We’re thrilled to reach this conditional commitment with the DOE, which is a huge vote of confidence in Hydrostor’s technology, and shows how important energy storage will be as we prioritize the reliability and resiliency of the grid for years to come,” said Curtis VanWalleghem, CEO and co-founder of Hydrostor.
Willow Rock Energy Storage Center is under permitting review with the California Energy Commission, with construction expected to begin in 2025 for commissioning in 2030.
The project will use the existing energy workforce in Kern County, California, the state’s energy capital, for the 700 peak construction jobs and 40 full-time operations jobs it will create.
The A-CAES technology will allow energy to be stored when it’s abundant for later use, like when production is lower during an unexpected storm or overnight.
This conditional commitment indicates the DoE’s intent to finance the project, however, the department must complete an environmental review, while Hydrostor must satisfy certain technical, legal, environmental, commercial and financial conditions before the DoE can determine whether to enter into definitive financing documents and fund the loan guarantee.