Ormat Technologies Inc. has completed the acquisition of a shovel-ready energy storage asset in Upton County, Texas.
Ormat acquired the asset from Con Edison Development. Ormat’s wholly owned subsidiary, Viridity Energy Solutions Inc., will design, build, own and operate the 25 MW battery energy storage system (BESS) project. It is co-located with an operational 157 MW solar PV generating facility that is owned and operated by CED Upton County Solar LLC. Ormat is targeting the commercial operation of the BESS before the end of 2021.
“This represents our second energy storage project in Texas, following the success of our Rabbit Hill BESS project which has been operating with high availability within the ERCOT market since April of this year,” says Doron Blachar, CEO of Ormat Technologies. “We are delighted to have been able to partner with Con Edison Development, a renewable energy developer and independent power producer, and hope to extend this collaboration further in the future. Ormat is well-positioned to grow its energy storage footprint, and this acquisition reinforces our target to add between 80 MW to 175 MW revenue-generating energy storage assets by the end of 2022.”
The BESS facility will provide much needed ancillary services and energy optimization to the wholesale markets managed by the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). Texas is currently experiencing growth in renewable energy deployment and fast-acting energy storage resources are expected to play an increasing role in allowing ERCOT to absorb such intermittent generators, while also coping with the increased frequency of extreme weather events.
