FORT WORTH, Texas — You rarely think about electricity until it’s gone. But after last year’s winter weather threw the energy process into a deadly supply-and-demand tug-of-war, more Texans are learning about the energy needs of the state.
Spectrum News 1 got an exclusive look at a plant outside Fort Worth that’s storing energy in lithium-ion batteries and releasing it to the grid when Texans need it most.
“These are like smartphone batteries on steroids,” explained Claudia Morrow, senior vice president of development for Vistra Corps.
The batteries are big for a reason—each one towers over the crews installing them. The enormous size allows each battery to store a lot of energy.
“When there’s excess electricity, [the batteries] store it until it’s needed and then they push it back onto the electrical grid,” she said.
The new Vistra Corp.’s DeCordova Energy Storage Facility near Granbury, Texas, is essentially a field of batteries.
“The size of this battery storage project will be 260 megawatts,” Morrow said.
To put that into perspective, Morrow explained that just one megawatt can provide power to 500 homes during the heat of summer. It is power that can help the electric grid meet the needs of Texans when demand is high.
“Over 100,000 people move here every year, we’re one of the fastest-growing states. We need projects like this. It’s really key for our future,” she said.
While these lithium-ion batteries are renewable, lithium affects the environment. It’s mined from the earth through a process that uses a lot of water.
“I think the industry recognizes it’s a time of change—of that transition,” Morrow said.
With the industry’s focus now on renewables, Morrow says Vistra even plans to phase out older, less efficient power plants that have dominated energy production for decades.
“Those plants, their life will come to an end,” she said.
It signals a new beginning for renewable energy and energy storage in Texas.
“I have teenagers. I’ve spent time explaining to them what mom does,” said Morrow. “Sometimes they think I’m kinda cool. I’ll take that. To come to the end, to get to the finish line, it’s pretty exciting.”
The battery project is costing about $100,000,000—it’s just part of a billion-dollar investment Vistra Corp has made in renewable energy here in the Lone Star State.
Morrow says once construction and testing is over in April, those batteries will be fully operational and begin storing energy for Texas’ power grid.