Battery energy storage systems directly support the incorporation of renewable energy resources and supports the incremental retirement of existing fossil fuel power plants. They can help the State, County, and SMUD achieve their clean energy goals and mandates by directly addressing renewable energy adoption and decarbonizing efforts.

California has several initiatives and policies that set clean energy goals, including the California Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) and 100% Clean Energy Act (CEA), which mandate 50% of electricity retails sales are to be served by renewable resources by 2030 and that 100% of total retail sales of electricity in CA are to come from eligible renewable energy resources by December 31, 2045.

The Sacramento County Climate Action Plan aims to reduce GHG emissions from communitywide activities and government operations by 2030.

Additionally, SMUD approved a 2030 Zero Carbon Plan in April 2021 with a goal to eliminate carbon emissions from its power supply by 2030.

Battery Energy Storage Systems will help with the achievement of these goals by helping:

• Reduce emissions of greenhouse gasesby capturing excess renewable energy generation for use later. This will reduce or avoid the curtailment of renewable energy and displace the use of fossil fuels to generate electricity.
• Reduce demand for peak electrical generationby replacing the use of natural gas-fired peaking plants during the highest electricity demand hours.
• Defer or substitute for an investment in generation, transmission and distributionby absorbing and compensating for fluctuations in energy from solar and wind energy, which complements existing infrastructure to meet energy system needs.
• Improve the reliable operation of the electrical transmission and distribution gridby providing several services to the electric grid, including frequency regulation, voltage support, resource adequacy and demand charge reduction.

20 years.

The Blacksmith Energy Storage Project will be comprised of lithium-ion batteries housed within a standardized, purpose-built, all-weather outdoor enclosure. Each battery enclosure will be paired with cooling systems, safety systems, inverters, controls, metering/telemetry, transformers, and accessory equipment. The battery enclosures will be arranged in rows.

On average, the battery enclosure will be approximately 10 feet in height and roughly 8 feet in width. The lengths of the enclosures vary due to the modular nature of these units. The number, size, layout and capabilities of each battery enclosure varies depending on the final system manufacturer.

On average, the battery enclosure will be approximately 10 feet in height and roughly 8 feet in width. The lengths of the enclosures vary due to the modular nature of these units. The number, size, layout and capabilities of each battery enclosure varies depending on the final system manufacturer.

The Project will employ rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Lithium-ion batteries are a widely adopted battery technology that has been found in various consumer applications over the past decades and are used in cell phones, laptops, and other household electronics.

The Project also includes the installation of an onsite substation located along the western edge of the Project site. This onsite substation will consist of high voltage electrical equipment that will connect the Project via the adjacent Black Hills substation to the electrical grid through a short, approximately 0.11-mile generation-tie transmission line (gen-tie line). The Project may also include water storage tanks and associated fire suppression equipment.

At the end of the Projects useful life, the Blacksmith Energy Storage Project will either be replaced or decommissioned. Decommissioning means removing all Project equipment and developments from the Project site and restoring the site to pre-construction conditions.

Most of the components of lithium-ion batteries can be recycled and used in new products. The recycled components can be used in new battery cells to lubricants and additives in building materials.

Strata’s equipment supply agreements with a battery manufacturer will typically address battery recycling obligations. The battery manufacturers’ Strata works with reclaim their lithium-ion batteries for recycling and reuse.

Lithium-ion battery recycling is a rapidly evolving industry that will likely yield new processes in the future. A vast majority of the first electric vehicle and utility-scale battery energy storage systems are still in operation and, as a result, the battery recycling industry has yet to fully evolve. It is anticipated that when the first utility scale storage systems (which have a useful life of approximately 20 years) reach decommissioning, the recycling industry will have significantly matured. The long-term vision of the battery storage industry is to achieve near 100% recycling capabilities.