The Modesto Irrigation District (MID) will test the applicability of mega-battery technology for storing clean energy produced from wind farms, for more effective and well-timed distribution to Pacific coast states.

Primus Power Corp. will use a new $14 million federal grant, along with other investment channels to store up to 25 megawatts of electricity. The project is a start, for a region where demand can exceed 600 megawatts on hot summer days.

The MID currently produces 100 megawatts of wind energy and expects a new project to be capable of another 50 megawatts next year.

The megabattery plan benefits from funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), popularly called “the stimulus plan”, and may be a landmark moment in the greening of the US energy-production and distribution infrastructure.