California's $600M Battery to Power 321,000 Homes by 2027

California just started building one of its biggest solutions yet to keeping the lights on with clean energy.

Renewable energy developer Arevon has broken ground on the Cormorant Energy Storage Project in Daly City, just south of San Francisco. When it flips on in 2027, the $600 million facility will store enough electricity to power about 321,000 homes for up to four hours during peak demand.

The project got even bigger than originally planned. Cormorant started as a 188 megawatt proposal but expanded to 250 megawatts with 1,000 megawatt-hours of storage capacity after MCE, a public electricity provider serving more than 1.8 million Bay Area residents, signed on for the additional power.

Here's how it works: the massive battery system will soak up electricity when solar panels and wind turbines are cranking out extra power. Then it releases that stored energy back to the grid during evening hours or hot afternoons when everyone turns on their air conditioning at once.

The facility will use lithium iron phosphate batteries, a chemistry known for safety and durability in grid storage applications. That matters because this battery needs to charge and discharge reliably for decades.

Construction is already creating jobs and economic benefits for the community. The build will employ around 175 workers, and local hotels and restaurants are expected to see a boost from construction activity over the next few years.

The Ripple Effect

The impact stretches far beyond keeping phones charged during dinner time. Over its lifetime, Cormorant is projected to generate more than $73 million in property tax revenue that will fund local schools, roads, and public services in Daly City.

Arevon has been investing in the community throughout the planning process, partnering with more than a dozen local organizations through donations, sponsorships, scholarships, and volunteer work. The company is treating this as a long-term community partnership, not just a construction project.

California already relies heavily on Arevon's clean energy infrastructure. The company operates more than 3.7 gigawatts of renewable projects across the state, representing over $5 billion in capital investment, with another 550 megawatts currently under construction.

Projects like Cormorant solve one of renewable energy's biggest challenges: the sun doesn't always shine when people need power most. By storing clean energy for later use, these massive batteries are making it possible to run the grid on renewables without blackouts or backup fossil fuel plants.

The Bay Area is about to get a powerful demonstration of how clean energy can be both reliable and transformative for local communities.