The California Energy Commission (CEC) has approved the Darden Clean Energy Project’s 4,600 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) in Fresno County’s western region. The BESS is owned by IP Darden I, a subsidiary of Intersect Power.

The project will be established on 9,500 acres of land that is unfit for agricultural production. It will include a 1,150 MW solar system comprising approximately 3.1 million panels.

The BESS will be set up under California’s Opt-In Certification program. It provides a consolidated permitting option for eligible clean energy projects, supporting the state’s transition to 100% zero-carbon retail electric sales by 2045.

Unless significant project changes occur that require additional review time, the environmental review for the project is expected to be completed within 270 days from the date when the project application is considered complete.

Projects applying through the Opt-In Certification program must provide community and economic benefits.

The Darden project will include community investments worth $2 million over the next decade, over 2,000 prevailing-wage construction jobs, and an estimated $169 million in economic benefits to the local area over 35 years.

Last year, California began a state-level cross-agency collaborative initiative aimed at providing continuous support to BESS innovation and strengthening safety standards. Some of the key initiatives include updating the California Fire Code to incorporate specific fire safety requirements for stationary lithium-ion battery storage systems, as well as the California Public Utilities Commission’s approval of new safety standards and enhanced oversight of emergency plans for grid-scale BESS.

California is the leading U.S. state in battery storage capacity, only trailing China globally. The state has over 200 utility-scale systems and more than 250,000 commercial and residential installations, totaling over 15,700 MW of capacity.

According to the California Governor’s office, the state added 7 GW of clean energy capacity to its grid in 2024. It added 25 GW of capacity over the last five years.

According to a report by the Solar Energy Industries Association and Wood Mackenzie, California deployed 15 MW of commercial solar-plus-storage in the first quarter of the financial year 2025.