Renewable energy developer and operator Apex Clean Energy has completed a US$150 million financing with First Citizens Bank for two ERCOT, Texas, battery energy storage system (BESS) projects.
First Citizens Bank was sole bookrunner and co-lead arranger on the financings for the 100MW/200MWh Great Kiskadee Storage in Hidalgo County and the 100MW/200MWh Angelo Storage project in Tom Green County.
Both projects are anticipated to have commercial operate date (COD) in the third quarter of 2024.
Great Kiskadee Storage is owned by SA Grid Solutions, a joint 40:60 venture between Apex and two companies that are part of the South Korean SK Group conglomerate, SK Gas and SK D&D.
Enjoy 12 months of exclusive analysis
- Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
- In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
- Annual digital subscription to the PV Tech Power journal
- Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual
Or continue reading this article for free
Oregon-based system integrator Powin is providing the BESS equipment for the two projects, announced in March 2023. Powin and Apex have are also partnering on another project in Texas, for Ingka Investments, the parent company of furniture retail chain Ikea, called Cameron Storage.
ERCOT is the second-largest BESS market in the US after California with around 9.5GW of grid-scale capacity expected to be online by October 2024. A substantial and lucrative ancillary services market has driven investment into the sector, although those markets are beginning to saturate as Energy-Storage.news recently reported (Premium access).
Major recent BESS news from ERCOT includes a 730 MW portfolio optimisation deal between Habitat Energy and UBS Asset Management, oil and gas giant Equinor launching 220MWh of projects and developer-operator Agilitas raising US$100 million debt for its pipeline.
