California officials are excited to announce the opening of a new power plant in Northeast Modesto, right next to the Modesto Irrigation District substation. With a high electrical capacity of 48 megawatts, officials believe that this plant, along with similar plants in Patterson and Lodi, can serve as the answer to California’s need to induce rolling outages when summer heat waves hit the state. 

The Modesto plant is equipped with 120 small engines that can start up at a moment’s notice and be modulated to match whatever demand residents and business owners put on the system. 

Scott Lipton, the Energy Policy Manager for plant manufacturer Enchanted Rock, said that he was impressed by how “the engines together made a low roar, but the visitors still could converse normally” during a test run conducted in the first half of 2024. But there is more to this solution than better noise control.

Never Again: Planning to Prevent Another Outage

With the Patterson location capable of carrying 47 megawatts and the Lake Lodi operation capable of conducting 48 megawatts, all three plants have enough collective capacity to ensure 100,000 residents can maintain electricity during the most brutal emergency weather events. 

Many people in the area still remember what happened in 2020, when Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and other utility providers had to conduct an hour-long planned power outage with residents in the north. The same situation happened in 2022, and two years later, officials are trying to prevent it from happening again.

All three plants have been built specifically for the electrical branch of the California Department of Water Resources (DWR). Though this agency mostly pumps water, it uses electricity to get the job done. The DWR supplies a great deal of hydropower as well.

Making It Worth the Investment

Each plant has come at a steep cost of over $300 million, but many officials consider it well worth the investment. They believe that climate change has forever shifted the weather toward more frequent extreme events and hope these plants will help the state be more resilient in the face of such issues.

The department originally considered using cleaner renewable resources like wind or solar to power the plants. While great for the environment, they don’t always produce reliable power, which is critical during a weather emergency. 

Instead, each plant is powered by natural gas. However, officials are proud of the fact that every plant is in line with environmental standards set forth by the State of California, which are some of the most stringent in the nation.

Best of all, these plants will act as shared resources to boost utility providers in the area. For example, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. will be able to draw on its resources when not in use for other reasons and will have the option to purchase them once the state has other solutions to rely on.

For Officials, Resiliency Is the Ultimate Goal

In an effort to make the grid system more reliable amid growing challenges with climate change, California officials are also looking to use other available resources, such as the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant, as well as programs that encourage residents to plan their power usage around off-peak hours. 

Still, state and local officials are excited to be able to add yet another tool to help residents keep the power going when they need it most.

To learn more, take a look at the original article by John Holland.