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Catalina Island

Current status, energy mix, organizations, suppliers, equipment, controls, reported specifications, and project updates—with source-level citations.

CoverageDetailed public record
Named organizations5
System facts16
Sources reviewed12
Evidence reviewed2026-07-20

Southern California Edison's isolated Santa Catalina Island grid is centered on the Pebbly Beach Generating Station and combines diesel generation, propane microturbines, and a sodium-sulfur battery. The best public system inventory identifies 9.4 MW of diesel generation, 23 microturbines totaling about 1.5 MW, and a 1 MW/7.2 MWh battery. SCE converted all station generator fuel to renewable diesel in 2024 and is replacing three of six older diesel units to meet tighter air limits while continuing to evaluate a longer-term repower. Solar-plus-storage scenarios in the NREL repower study were alternatives, not installed equipment.

Research status
Operating as an isolated SCE utility system. SCE reports that all station generator fuel changed to renewable diesel in 2024 and that three of six older diesels are being replaced. A 2022 all-source procurement produced no compliant repower bid, so SCE was still evaluating propane and solar options in its current 2026 project account. The sodium-sulfur battery itself had not been declared end-of-life, but SCE told the CPUC in 2024 that its battery control system was inoperable because replacement parts were unavailable; a later return-to-service date was not located.
Historical classification
Island
Reported capacity
See component specifications
Coordinates
33.38789, -118.41631
Evidence note: “Every company” cannot be proven from public material alone. This page lists every organization found in the recovered record and reviewed sources, preserves unknown roles, and explicitly marks undisclosed controller or equipment details.
Report missing evidenceResearch methodology

Project delivery

Who was involved in Catalina Island?

5 publicly identified organizations. Where a recovered source named a participant without explaining its work, the role remains explicitly unspecified.

Organization

Emerson

Supplier of the Ovation generating-station automation platform installed in 2017 and later licensed for a remote SCE workstation. [9][10]

Organization

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Prepared the detailed repower feasibility study for SCE, including the existing-asset inventory and conceptual renewable scenarios. [6]

Organization

NGK Insulators

Manufacturer of the sodium-sulfur battery modules used in SCE's 1 MW/7.2 MWh installation. [11]

Organization

S&C Electric Company

Turnkey integrator of the sodium-sulfur storage installation and supplier of the PureWave Storage Management System identified in the commissioning account. [11]

Organization

Southern California Edison

Owner and operator of the island electric system, Pebbly Beach Generating Station, microturbines, and sodium-sulfur storage; also leading diesel replacement and repower procurement. [5][6][7][8]

System evidence

Energy mix, capacity, and specifications

Values can describe different project phases, generation sources, storage systems, or other components. Source citations are attached to each figure so discrepancies remain visible.

Existing diesel generation in NREL repower baseline
Six units totaling 9.4 MW: 1.0, 1.5, 1.125, 1.575, 1.4, and 2.8 MW [6]
Propane microturbines
23 units at 65 kW each, approximately 1.5 MW total [6][8]
Battery storage
1 MW / 7.2 MWh sodium-sulfur system, placed in service in August 2012 [7][6]
NREL baseline combined nameplate
Approximately 11.9 MW when diesel, microturbines, and the 1 MW battery discharge rating are listed together; this is not an annual energy-mix percentage [6]
Distribution
12 kV isolated system with three principal island circuits from Pebbly Beach [6]
Current fuel change
All generator fuel switched from conventional diesel to renewable diesel in 2024; SCE reports a 98% reduction in anthropogenic lifecycle greenhouse-gas emissions, not a 98% renewable-electricity share [5]

Controls and hardware

Equipment and controller details

Manufacturer and model are shown only when a source names them. Generic descriptions are not converted into guessed product assignments.

01

Battery modules

NGK Insulators

Molten-salt sodium-sulfur modules in a 1 MW/7.2 MWh installation. [11][7]

02

Battery integration and controls

S&C Electric Company — PureWave Storage Management System

Turnkey storage-management package used for the NGK battery installation; SCE later reported the separate battery control system inoperable in 2024 because its manufacturer no longer made required parts. [11][8]

03

Plant automation

Emerson — Ovation

Generating-station automation installed in 2017 to supervise diesel units, microturbines, storage, emissions controls, auxiliaries, and switchgear; SCE later added licensed remote-workstation capability. [9][10]

04

Propane microturbines

Capstone

A 2012 technical presentation identifies 23 Capstone propane microturbines initially described at 60 kW each; later SCE/NREL records use 65 kW per unit. No newer replacement model was identified. [12][6]

Technical record

Architecture, performance, and project updates

Concise technical facts, milestones, operating results, and later developments. Dated notes distinguish historical design claims from current evidence.

  • Battery operating role

    SCE described charging the battery overnight so diesel units could remain at the roughly 80% minimum load needed by their emissions-control systems, then discharging during higher daytime demand. [7]

  • Battery-control issue

    In May 2024 SCE said the battery control system was inoperable because its manufacturer no longer produced replacement parts. SCE distinguished that controls problem from battery end-of-life and had postponed a battery diagnostic until controls could be restored. [8]

  • Repower procurement

    SCE issued an all-source solicitation in 2022 after contacting more than 2,000 potential participants. It received only a few bids and reported that none met project requirements; the current page therefore presents propane and solar/storage as alternatives still under evaluation. [5]

  • Conceptual renewable case

    NREL modeled a 60% renewable solar-storage-diesel scenario and other repower choices, including an undersea cable. These were feasibility cases and must not be represented as installed Catalina capacity. [6]

  • Current compliance work

    SCE is replacing three of six older diesel generators with Tier 4-compliant units as South Coast AQMD Rule 1135 tightens allowable NOx emissions to 45 tons per year in 2027 and 30 tons in 2028. The replacement-unit manufacturer and ratings were not publicly disclosed on the reviewed page. [5]

  • Evidence boundary

    The most recent sources establish an operating isolated grid, a 2024 fuel transition, diesel replacement, and a storage-control problem. They do not provide a current annual electricity mix, battery availability after May 2024, or a selected long-term repower design. [5][8]

Provenance

12 sources

Primary owner, government, university, supplier, and engineering sources are preferred. Archived references preserve claims whose original pages moved or disappeared.

  1. [1]
    Recovered Microgrid Projects record

    Internet Archive · Archived source · captured 2020-12-01

  2. [2]
    Horst Frank~commonswiki

    commons.wikimedia.org · Archived source · captured 2020-12-01

  3. [3]
    talk

    commons.wikimedia.org · Archived source · captured 2020-12-01

  4. [4]
    contribs

    commons.wikimedia.org · Archived source · captured 2020-12-01

  5. [5]
    Catalina Island

    Southern California Edison · Primary source

  6. [6]
    Santa Catalina Island Repower Feasibility Study

    National Renewable Energy Laboratory / Southern California Edison · Primary source

  7. [7]
    Batteries Help Keep Catalina's Lights On

    Southern California Edison · Primary source

  8. [8]
    Catalina battery control system testimony and data responses in A.23-05-010

    California Public Utilities Commission · Primary source

  9. [9]
    Pebbly Beach Generating Station automation workpapers

    California Public Utilities Commission · Primary source

  10. [10]
    SCE workpapers describing the Catalina Ovation remote workstation

    California Public Utilities Commission · Primary source

  11. [11]
    Energy Warehousing

    T&D World · Secondary research

  12. [12]
    Catalina Island Distributed Generation Project

    Southern California Edison / U.S. DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory · Primary source

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