New Battery Energy System Brings Sustainability and Resiliency to Santa Barbara’s Energy System

Tucked away up on San Roque Road in Santa Barbara, there is a white structure that may look something like storage boxes to a passerby. This structure is actually a new battery energy storage system at the Cater Water Treatment Plant that will save hundreds of thousands of dollars in energy costs and lighten the pressure on local energy grids. 

“Today marks a very significant day for the City of Santa Barbara in our journey toward a clean and resilient energy future,” said Jefferson Litten, the city’s energy and climate program manager. “We are standing before the largest battery backup system at any city facility and the first battery backup system to go online.” 

Santa Barbara Mayor Randy Rowse cut the ribbon with a pair of classic ceremonial giant scissors to celebrate the new battery energy storage system at Cater on December 7. 

The battery system will bolster the energy systems at Cater and allow the systems there to use a “load shift” method. This method allows the battery to charge during the middle of the day when energy is cheap and available and discharge in the evening when energy is costly and less available, according to a press release from the City of Santa Barbara.

The battery system was obtained through a state grant that the city worked alongside Tesla to secure. Because of this grant, the $3.14 million battery and a contract to operate and maintain it for the next 10 years were acquired at no out-of-pocket expense to the city. 

There are plans to add solar to the battery system in the next few years as well as to add more battery projects in the Santa Barbara area in the near future. 

“We have a few more coming up online that are going to be amazing as we work toward resiliency and sustainability and, once again, our independent ability to stay functional and running during these times [of natural disaster],” Rowse said. 

This battery is one part of Santa Barbara’s journey toward more sustainable energy, a notion that is being focused upon all over California. Battery installations have increased by 3,500 percent in the past four years, according to the California Energy Commission, while green energy now represents about 60 percent of the state’s power sources.

“While we continue to add sources of power, we are going to work on ways to make that power consistently get to the hospitals, the industry in Goleta, the industry in Carpinteria,” said Randy Berg, the co-leader of the Energy Working Group of Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce. “So the Chamber is excited to see this kind of activity, and we’d love to see more of it.” 

The battery system at Cater is projected to save the city $790,000 in energy costs over the next 20 years. Between the increased stability and cost reductions, the city is looking to add more projects of this sort. 

“We look forward to cutting a few more ribbons in 2024,” Litten said.