Batteries fill a 25 MW gap so a Long Beach manufacturing campus can open before the utility is ready
Developer SRG Commercial and Critical Loop are installing a temporary 25 MW power system at a six-building manufacturing campus near Long Beach, California, because Southern California Edison cannot supply full service in time for the tenant's early 2027 start.
The campus gets about 7 MW of firm SCE capacity plus 2 MW of flexible service, ENR reported. Critical Loop will set two of its containerized CLB-5100 battery systems at each building, 12 MW and 60 MWh in all. The batteries discharge when demand tops what SCE can supply and recharge when the grid has room. Onsite generation covers any remaining shortfall, and 3.5 MW of emergency generators stay disconnected for long outages.
Critical Loop declined to name the tenant. The Information reported it is defense manufacturer Anduril Industries, which needs power by March 1, 2027. Anduril is building a 1.18 million-square-foot campus in Long Beach and Lakewood that state officials value at $1 billion. The first buildings should get power in late February 2027 while SCE brings in two new feeders, and SRG expects to lean on the temporary system for at least 18 months.
At each building's utility service, SRG's crews are installing Cygnus controllers and AC combiners supplied by Critical Loop. Critical Loop will own and run the batteries and did not disclose the contract value. Before anything is switched on, SCE has to sign off under California's Rule 21: the utility must approve the non-export setup, sign an interconnection agreement and issue permission to operate.
Critical Loop says the system goes from contract to power in nine months. SRG has named the company its preferred microgrid provider in Southern California for two years.
Why it matters: When utility energization trails your certificate of occupancy, a battery bridge can get the building running, but it needs its own Rule 21 approval from the utility. Put that review on the schedule early and leave room at each service for controllers and combiners.
Sources
- Critical Loop Debuts CLB-5100 Power System with 25 MW SRG COMMERCIAL DeploymentBusiness Wire, Oct 27
- 25-MW Temp Power System Bridges Grid Delay at California Manufacturing CampusENR, Oct 28