Energy

SRP, Google partner on new energy storage project

While SRP has used battery storage like this 100-megawatt project in partnership with NextEra Energy Resrouces, the utility is now teaming with Google for non-litium ion battery storage studies. (SRP)

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Energy

SRP, Google partner on new energy storage project

Posted Monday, September 8, 2025 2:01 pm

Salt River Project and Google are teaming on a research project to better understand the performance of non-lithium ion long-duration energy storage technologies with a goal of putting those technologies to use at the utility scale.

Google will fund a portion of the costs for pilot projects developed for SRP’s grid. Google will evaluate data on the pilot projects’ performance and provide input on the research and testing plans.

“We believe that long duration energy storage will play an essential role in meeting SRP’s sustainability goals and ensuring grid reliability,” said Chico Hunter, SRP manager of innovation and development. “This first-of its kind research collaboration with Google will bring additional insight into the viability of these new technologies that could move them to maturity more quickly.”

While lithium-ion batters have produced a number of facilities for utility scale operation, other storage methods from compressed-air storage, gravity-energy storage and others have been recognized as providing alternatives.

SRP is committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Google is working toward running its global data centers and offices on carbon-free energy, as well as achieving net-zero emissions across its operations.

“Long duration energy storage is a key technology in the portfolio of advanced energy solutions that we want to bring to market faster — to unlock stronger, cleaner, more resilient grids,” said Lucia Tian, head of advanced energy technologies at Google. “Through our collaboration with SRP, we aim to accelerate the innovation and technological advancements necessary to deploy LDES solutions at scale so communities in Arizona and beyond can meet their power needs reliably and cost-effectively for years to come.”

SRP issued requests for proposals in 2022 and 2024 for LDES technology demonstration projects and will explore with Google the inclusion of multiple projects in the research collaboration.

Google and SRP have worked together in the past with the Sonoran Solar Energy Center, a 260-megawatt solar facility with a 1 gigawatt-hour battery energy storage system; Storey Energy Center, an 88-megawatt solar and battery energy storage system; and Babbitt Ranch Energy Center, a 161-megawatt wind farm, all support the energy needs of Google’s future data center in Mesa. Google’s current projections indicate these projects will help its Arizona operations reach at least 80% CFE on an hourly basis by 2026.

SRP has nearly 1,300 megawatts of energy storage supporting its grid, which includes 1,100 megawatts of battery storage — spanning eight facilities— and 200 megawatts of pumped hydro storage. The utility is eyeing at least doubling the number of power generating resources on its system for reliability and resilience during the next 10 years in the Valley.