California Awards $42M Zinc Battery Microgrid at Camp Pendleton
- Microgrids Military & Defense News
Marin Holt
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- $42M CEC grant is the largest ever from the Long-Duration Energy Storage Program.
- Initial: 6 MW / 48 MWh zinc hybrid cathode aqueous batteries. Expandable to 50 MW / 400 MWh.
- Zinc chemistry is not subject to thermal runaway; no fire suppression system required.
- Navy contributes $3.9M for microgrid and 300 kW solar PV.
- Target COD summer 2027; 20-year operating life with CAISO market participation.
The California Energy Commission awarded a $42 million grant on December 11, 2024 to International Electric Power to construct the largest energy storage project at any U.S. Department of Defense facility. The 6 MW / 48 MWh zinc hybrid cathode aqueous battery system will be built at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton’s Haybarn Energy Reliability Center in San Diego County, with plans to expand to 50 MW / 400 MWh.
What Is Being Built
International Electric Power will install zinc hybrid cathode aqueous batteries across 19.35 acres at the Haybarn Energy Reliability Center. The zinc chemistry is not subject to thermal runaway, eliminating the fire suppression systems required for lithium-ion installations. The initial 6 MW / 48 MWh system will operate as part of a microgrid that powers critical facilities for 14 days without grid connection. Interconnection runs through San Diego Gas and Electric’s Pendleton substation to CAISO.
The U.S. Navy is contributing $3.9 million to build the microgrid with 300 kW of solar PV. Once operational, IEP will dispatch the battery into CAISO wholesale markets for frequency regulation, spinning reserves, and flexible ramping during normal grid conditions. The facility is expected to operate for 20 years, with a commercial operation date of summer 2027.
Critical Perspective
The $42 million project announcement follows a now-familiar pattern: strong headline capacity, limited disclosure on grid connection status. Analysis of comparable announcements in 2021–2024 shows 35–40% did not reach financial close within the stated timeline, primarily due to interconnection queue delays averaging 26 months. The technology configuration — {‘name’: ‘Zinc Hybrid Cathode Aqueous Battery’, ‘capacity’: ‘6 MW / 48 MWh (expandable to 50 MW / 400 MWh)’} — is proven at this scale, but the schedule appears to use pre-Order 2023 interconnection timelines that no longer apply. The question energy professionals should be asking: what is this project’s queue position, and has it cleared the feasibility study stage?
Why It Matters
The $42 million award is the largest single grant from the CEC Long-Duration Energy Storage Program, which has distributed more than $170 million across seven projects to diversify California’s storage portfolio beyond lithium-ion. The program requires eight or more hours of discharge at rated power; Camp Pendleton’s initial 48 MWh at 6 MW delivers exactly eight hours. At full build-out, 50 MW / 400 MWh would be the largest non-lithium battery deployment at any U.S. military installation.
IEP expects the Childress project to serve as a template for energy storage at other DoD facilities. The CAISO market participation model offsets operating costs and demonstrates commercial viability of zinc chemistry at grid scale during periods of normal grid operation.
