Beacon BESS 1 — Plant Summary
- EIA Plant ID
- 61431
- Capacity
- 20 MW
- Primary Fuel
- Battery Storage
- Technology
- Batteries
- Status
- Operating
- Location
- Kern, CA
- Operating Since
- 2018
- Generators
- 1
- Operator
- Los Angeles Department of Water & Power
- Parent Company
- Los Angeles Department of Water & Power
- Annual Generation
- -2,940 MWh
- Capacity Factor
- -1.7%
- Balancing Authority
- Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
- ISO/RTO
- —
- NERC Region
- WECC
Beacon BESS 1
OperatingBESS
Ranked #113 of 191 BESS plants in CA#480 of 837 nationally
20 MW BESS operating in Kern, CA — Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
EIAWD
20 MW
Nameplate Capacity
1
Generators
unit
Batteries
Technology
2018
Operating Since
Location
Coordinates
35.2565, -118.0275
County
Kern, CA
Nearby Plants
- Hecate Energy Beacon Solar 4Solar50 MW · 0.3 km
- Beacon Solar Plant Site 5Solar37.8 MW · 1.1 km
- Hecate Energy Beacon Solar 1Solar56 MW · 1.9 km
Ownership & Operator
| Field | EIA | GEM | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | Los Angeles Department of Water & Power | Los Angeles Department of Water & Power | — |
| Owner(s) | Los Angeles Department of Water & Power | Los Angeles Department of Water & Power | — |
| Status | Operating | — | — |
Ownership Chain
About
Beacon BESS 1 is a battery energy storage system (BESS) located in Kern County, California. The plant has a total capacity of 20 MW and utilizes lithium-ion batteries (LIB) with a total storage capacity of 10 MWh, providing a duration of 0.5 hours. It began operating in 2018 and has one generator. The primary fuel type is listed as MWH, indicating it draws power from the grid to charge the batteries.
The facility is owned and operated by the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP), which also serves as the balancing authority. It operates within the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) NERC region. Beacon BESS 1 ranks as the 184th largest power plant in California out of 300, and 683rd nationally out of 1205.
Generated from EIA, GEM, and public data sources
Engineering & Generators
Grid Context
NERC Region
WECC
Balancing Authority
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
Grid Voltage
34.5 kV
Regulatory Status
RE
Entity Type
Municipal
Sector
Electric Utility
Generation
−234 MWh
Net Charging
-2.9K MWh
Annual Net Energy
-1.7%
Capacity Factor
Jan 2023 – Dec 2025
Positive values indicate net discharge (generation exceeds station load). Negative values indicate net charging. Pure battery storage plants are typically net negative due to round-trip efficiency losses.
Financial Data
No financial data available for this plant.
Pricing & Market Data
This plant is outside organized wholesale electricity markets (ISOs/RTOs). Nodal pricing data is not available.
News & Articles (5)Beta
Grid·capacity addition
Tesla Megapack Units to Power $1 billion BESS in California
Tesla Megapack was selected to power a 150 MW/600 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS). Arevon Energy announced it has received...
Tesla (seller)Arevon Energy (developer)
Drive Tesla Canada·2 years ago
Grid·capacity addition
California’s Largest Battery Storage Installation to Be Installed in Mojave Desert
The BESS will be co-located with a 400-MW solar PV plant (PV Plant), which will deliver energy across a 5-mile gen-tie to LADWP's Barren Ridge Switching...
LADWP (other)
POWER Magazine·6 years ago
Industry·technology
Designing for Extremes: Battery Storage in the Mojave Desert
Doosan GridTech used an N+1 design methodology and intelligent failover feature to deliver a BESS with minimum system downtime for maintenance and repair.
Doosan GridTech (other)
POWER Magazine·7 years ago
General
LA City Energy Storage System Flourishes in the Mojave Desert
The $19 million Beacon BESS is LADWP’s first utility-scale battery energy storage project, installed alongside new solar photovoltaic (PV)...
Power Engineering·7 years ago
Last updated 2026-03-14
View all 5 articles