Renewable energy developer and operator Apex Clean Energy has announced commercial operations for the 100MW/200MWh Great Kiskadee Storage battery energy storage system (BESS) located in Hidalgo County, Texas, US.
With an initial anticipated commercial operation date (COD) in Q3 2024, the project received a US$150 million financing from First Citizens Bank, which also supported the 100MW/200MWh Angelo Storage project in Tom Green County, Texas.
The BESS equipment for both projects is provided by global battery storage system integrator Powin. The company is using its grid-scale battery energy storage platform Centipede for Apex’s projects.
The Great Kiskadee Storage project 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.
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Apex says that the project, constructed by Saber Power Services, will generate more than US$12.6 million in tax revenue over its lifetime. The project also committed grant funding to support the restoration of 200 acres of wetland within the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, located approximately 70 miles from Edinburg, TX, Hidalgo’s county seat, near the Gulf of Mexico.
Apex, headquartered in Virginia, was founded in 2009. The company began acquiring wind projects and scaled up — developing, constructing and operating solar, storage, distributed energy resources and utility-scale wind projects. The company now claims to have 2GW of clean energy under its management.
Hidalgo County, located in the Lower Rio Grande Valley region of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) market, is also home to the 200MW/400MWh Anemoi standalone BESS (Premium access article), developed by Plus Power and cleared for operation in June 2024, and Developer-operator GridStor’s 150MW/300MWh BESS acquired from Balanced Rock Power.
The county also hosts three BESS projects for sale from developer PureSky Energy as part of a 794MW/1,588MWh BESS portfolio in Texas.
Texas continues to be an active market for BESS projects, driven by ERCOT’s wholesale market’s unique structure, which enables merchant opportunities for storage developers. The state accounted for 25% of a total 3,431MW/9,188MWh US grid-scale battery storage deployments recorded in Q3 2024, according to market research firm Wood Mackenzie’s most recent US Energy Storage Monitor Report.
A trend in the ERCOT market, as discussed in a July 2024 conversation with Energy-Storage.news and Modo Energy (Premium access article), is that revenues are becoming concentrated into a fewer number of days. This leads to an increase in volatility, where prices are either incredibly high or incredibly low.
Ken Young, CEO of Apex Clean Energy said of the Great Kiskadee Storage announcement: “Great Kiskadee Storage marks a significant milestone in our partnership with SK Gas and SK eternix, demonstrating the strength of our collaboration and shared commitment to advancing energy storage solutions.”
“This facility will play a crucial role in enhancing grid reliability in Texas, absorbing excess electricity during periods of high generation and providing power back to the grid when demand increases.”
