Models for Resilience in California’s Battery Investment

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By Christopher Farnie, P.E., LEED AP, M.SAME

As California expands battery energy storage, a project in San Jacinto provides a practical model for installations seeking to maintain energy continuity.

In January 2025, wildfires across Southern California burned thousands of acres and destroyed entire communities. What began as isolated ignitions quickly escalated into a regional crisis, disrupting the grid and forcing utilities to de-energize portions of the system.

This crisis exposed how planning assumptions do not always hold under real-world conditions. For mission-critical sites, resilience is now defined by the ability to maintain power when the surrounding network is compromised, rather than relying on broader grid reliability. Battery energy storage systems (BESS) demonstrate how that capability is built.

When integrated with substation infrastructure, coordinated controls, real-time SCADA visibility, and thorough commissioning, storage can support installation islanding and stabilize power during volatile conditions. As compound weather events challenge grid performance, this approach is shaping how military bases and other campuses prepare for disruptions.

Growing Capacity

California’s perennial sunshine, sprawling technology and innovation ecosystem, and sustained investment in clean energy have positioned the state at the forefront of renewable deployment. Over decades, regulators have built a policy framework that incentivizes adoption and creates long-term market certainty.

In 2015, California’s installed battery storage capacity stood at just 112-MW. A decade later, that figure has grown to nearly 17,000-MW—an increase of more than 15,000 percent and a significant step toward the state’s 2045 decarbonization targets. The presence of large-scale battery systems now punctuate the grid, allowing operators to store energy when solar generation is abundant and relatively inexpensive during low-demand daytime hours, then dispatch it as demand rises in the evening.

However, this growth has unfolded alongside increasing operational stress. Wildfire-related shutoffs, transmission constraints, and localized outages continue to test how power is delivered in real time. In those moments, the grid depends on assets that can respond immediately, communicate clearly with operators, and perform under constrained conditions. This is where battery storage has taken on a more central role. It serves as both a tool for balancing supply and demand and a resource for maintaining continuity when normal grid operations are disrupted.

Integrated Solution

For preparedness planners, the appeal of a BESS is simple: it provides immediate, on-site power when the grid is unavailable, enabling operations to continue independently rather than waiting for grid restoration. In practice, that means operators are not waiting on restoration timelines or reacting to rolling outages; they have a controllable resource on site when conditions deteriorate. A well-integrated BESS can also smooth volatility, support microgrids, reduce strain on local infrastructure, and bridge short-duration disturbances. At an installation level, this supports continuity for command facilities, communications systems, medical operations, water systems, and other loads that cannot go offline without cascading consequences.

The important qualifier is “well-integrated.” A battery is not resilient simply because cells and inverters are installed. The value comes from the engineering around it: substation connections aligned with grid conditions; protection schemes that isolate faults; controls that respond as intended; supervisory systems that give operators real-time visibility; communications that remain functional under stress; and documentation that supports long-term maintenance.

Without these elements to serve as a backbone, battery capacity remains inert. With them, storage becomes an operational asset. In high-pressure scenarios, gaps in an integration surface quickly.

Scalable Path Forward

Large-scale battery storage deployments in high-demand regions are clarifying how energy can be generated, stored, and deployed with greater precision. For military installations, this evolution presents a direct path toward stronger preparedness and resilience.

Installations operate in environments where power reliability is directly tied to mission readiness. Traditional backup strategies, like diesel generation, are designed for response. BESS supports a more proactive posture that is focused on control, flexibility, and anticipation. By storing energy on site, installations gain the ability to operate independently from the grid and manage how and when power is used, rather than reacting only after disruptions occur.

This shift enables a more dynamic energy posture. Stored energy can be deployed during outages, peak demand, or fuel supply constraints, supporting critical operations without interruption. When integrated with microgrid controls, protection systems, and SCADA platforms, BESS allows installations to isolate from the grid, prioritize essential loads, and maintain real-time visibility into system performance. These capabilities give operators greater control in conditions where speed and clarity of response are critical.

The broader implication is a move toward greater energy independence. BESS reduces reliance on external power and fuel logistics with more flexibility for future demand, including electrification and evolving load profiles. As defense agencies prioritize resilience, BESS is becoming a baseline component of infrastructure—built to operate through disruption, not just respond to it.

Christopher Farnie, P.E., LEED AP, M.SAME, is Vice President, Pond, an ENERCON Company; farniec@pondco.com.

Published in the July-August 2026 issue of The Military Engineer