Hydrostor’s Willow Rock Energy Storage Center Signs Offtake Agreement with Southern California Community Choice Aggregator
The Willow Rock Energy Storage Center will provide 60 MW of capacity to CEA’s more than 255,000 customers
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Hydrostor, a leading global long duration energy storage (LDES) developer and operator, is pleased to announce that the Willow Rock Energy Storage Center has signed a 60 megawatt (MW) offtake agreement with Clean Energy Alliance (CEA), a community choice aggregator based in San Diego County.
Jordan Cole, Hydrostor’s Chief Commercial Officer, said, “This agreement marks a key milestone for Willow Rock as we begin significant activity on the project site. Hydrostor is thrilled to partner with CEA to ensure their customers have cost-effective and reliable storage as electricity demand continues to grow, and to assist in providing a resilient grid for California for decades to come.”
Greg Wade, Chief Executive Officer of CEA, said, “Partnering with Hydrostor on the Willow Rock project is another step forward in advancing CEA’s commitment to reliable, zero-emissions power. Long-duration energy storage allows us to capture excess solar energy during peak production and discharge it when regional demand is highest, displacing fossil fuel generation and strengthening grid stability. This innovative facility in Kern County will play a vital role in helping CEA meet both state reliability mandates and our customers’ growing energy needs with clean, dependable capacity.”
On-site work has officially begun on the Willow Rock Energy Storage Center as of July 2026. The project, located in California’s Antelope Valley, received its California Energy Commission permit in December of 2025 and its franchise agreement from the Kern County Board of Supervisors earlier the same month, as well as a conditional letter of support from the Kern County Board of Supervisors in April of 2025.
The Willow Rock Energy Storage Center is Hydrostor’s first utility-scale project being built in the U.S., building on its operational project in Ontario, Canada. The company has a 7 GW project pipeline globally, with projects in the U.S., Australia, Canada, and the UK.
About Hydrostor Inc.
Hydrostor is a leading developer and operator of long duration energy storage systems, leveraging a proven, patented technology solution for delivering long duration energy storage to power grids around the world, using compressed air and water to store energy.
Founded in 2010 and with offices in Toronto, Canada; Melbourne, Australia; and Denver, USA; Hydrostor is backed by Goldman Sachs Alternatives, CPP Investments, Canada Growth Fund, and other forward-thinking institutional investors, providing financial security to commit to top-tier energy projects. Hydrostor has an extensive pipeline of A-CAES projects in North America, Australia, and Europe, poised to meet their evolving grid and reliability needs.
To learn more, visit https://www.hydrostor.ca/ or follow us on LinkedIn.
About Clean Energy Alliance
Clean Energy Alliance (CEA) is a locally controlled, not-for-profit power provider serving over 255,000 customers in the cities of Carlsbad, Del Mar, Escondido, Oceanside, San Marcos, Solana Beach and Vista with a focus on sustainability, competitive rates and community reinvestment. CEA follows a community choice aggregation (CCA) model that allows local governments to purchase power to meet their community’s electricity needs, offering an alternative to investor-owned utilities.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260806689565/en/
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