California Braces for Fire, Massive Storage Deployments

In this episode of Grid Talk, Host Marty Rosenberg talks with Elliot Mainzer who is the President and CEO of the California Independent System Operator (ISO). The discussion focuses on the effort to bring on more renewable generation in California and what that means for the delivery of energy. Battery storage will play a significant role in meeting peak demand.

“The next five to seven years, California is going to be bringing on a monumental amount of new supply into the system. The amount of storage on the California grid this summer is going to be one of the largest in the world,” said Mainzer.

Mr. Mainzer also talks about what’s ahead for the evolving energy market in the West including the need for additional generation and new infrastructure.

“There’s just no way we’re going to be able to meet our clean energy objectives reliably without additional transmission resource diversification.”

The podcast ends with a discussion about the ongoing drought in the Southwest and the threat to the grid from wildfires.

Elliot Mainzer took over as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the California Independent System Operator in September of 2020, following an 18-year career at the Bonneville Power Administration. The ISO is responsible for managing the flow of electricity that serves 80 percent of California and a small portion of Nevada. 

Mr. Mainzer earned his bachelor’s degree in geography from the University of California, Berkeley. He has an MBA and Master of Environmental Studies degree from Yale University.