Port of Long Beach: Input sought on proposed Pier S battery energy storage system

The Port of Long Beach will host a pair of public scoping meetings to provide information and gather input for a 70-megawatt battery energy storage system (BESS) proposed by Lighthouse Pier S LLC, located on 2.9 acres of land in the Long Beach Power Plant property at 2665 Pier S Lane.

The BESS facility would provide additional energy capacity in response to the California Public Utilities Commission’s mandate to strengthen reliability of the electric grid as the state transitions to renewable energy resources.

An in-person scoping meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 6 at the Port of Long Beach Administrative Building’s 1st Floor Multipurpose Room, 415 W. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, 90802.

The proposed project would install approximately 100 individual fire-rated metal enclosures, each containing lithium-ion battery cells; a direct current collection system; alternating current for auxiliary power; a dedicated transmission line; fiber-optic cables; supervisory control and data acquisition equipment; a communications system; cooling, safety and monitoring systems; a power conversion system to connect the BESS and a new 66-kilovolt (kV) substation to transform the voltage between the power conversion system and the substation transmission system. The property has been owned since 2021 by Long Beach Generation LLC, a subsidiary of ArcLight Energy Partners Fund.

The existing, 66-kV SCE Long Beach Bus Substation adjacent to the proposed project site to the north would also be upgraded. Additionally, the project proposes to demolish three buildings and sections of abandoned concrete saltwater intake pipes.

Comments will be gathered for input about the scope and content of the proposed project’s environmental impact report. The Notice of Preparation and Notice of Public Scoping Meetings for the proposed project are at www.polb.com/ceqa.

Written public comments will be accepted until 4 p.m. Friday, Aug. 29 and can be submitted via email to [email protected] or to Renee Moilanen, Director of Environmental Planning, Port of Long Beach, 415 W. Ocean Blvd., 7th Floor, Long Beach, California, 90802.