IPP Clearway Energy Group has closed financing and started construction on its 1,280MWh Honeycomb battery energy storage system (BESS) portfolio in Utah, US.
Honeycomb is comprised of four BESS projects adjacent to an operating solar energy portfolio, which Clearway also owns. The BESS projects are 80MW each and will be 4-hour duration systems using Tesla Megapacks.
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The portfolio has a 20-year tolling agreement with Berkshire Hathaway Energy-owned utility Pacificorp, which allows the utility to use the BESS projects to store, manage, and dispatch stored electricity to its customers.
The US$605 million financing for the portfolio was led by a consortium consisting of KeyBanc Capital Markets, CoBank ACB, DNB Bank ASA, New York Branch, US Bancorp Impact Finance), National Australia Bank Limited, Bank of America, National Association and Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale, New York Branch.
Clearway says the projects are expected operational sometime in 2026, partnering with electrical contractor Rosendin on the construction of the portfolio. The company says the construction process will create approximately 50 jobs with about 15% of total worked hours being fulfilled by apprentices.
According to Clearway’s website, the company currently has 3 standalone utility-scale BESS projects totalling 460.5MW. This includes two projects under construction, the 113.5MW Daggett BESS in San Bernadino County, California, the 200MW Pine Forest BESS is Hopkins County, Texas, and 1 operating project, the 147MW Rosamund Central BESS in Kern County, California.
The company also has 2 utility-scale solar-plus-storage projects in operation totalling 75MW. The 39MW Mililani Solar 1 and 36MW Waiawa projects are both located in Honolulu County, Hawaii.
In November 2024, Clearway withdrew three hybrid solar and storage projects (Premium access article) from Hawaiian Electric Co’s (HECO’s) latest renewable energy procurement, citing the investor-owned utility’s (IOU’s) “ongoing financial uncertainty”.
In the same month, Clearway signed a Energy Storage Exclusivity Agreement (ESEA) with California CCA utility (Premium access article) Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) for a 750MW/3,000MWh standalone BESS project located in Monterey County, California.
Utah, the location of the Honeycomb portfolio, in 2024 saw German and US residential battery storage and VPP provider, Sonnen partner with ES Solar to sell over 18MWh of energy storage systems in Utah, as part of the ‘Go Back’ programme. The programme, enabled by Rocky Mountain Power (RMP), allows Utah homeowners with current solar PV installations to add a grid-interactive smart sonnen battery.
Also in the state, RMP and technology provider Torus signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) outlining a strategic partnership and exploration of 70MW of demand response capacity using Torus’ energy storage solutions.
Announced 27 January, the partnership would support Utah’s Operation Gigawatt, an initiative that looks to expand Utah’s power production over the next 10 years.
Operation Gigawatt was introduced in October 2024 by Utah governor Spencer Cox. It calls for expanding energy production through nuclear and geothermal development, increasing transmission capacity, and investing in energy research within the state.
Steve Ryder, Chief Financial Officer for Clearway said of the Honeycomb portfolio:
“Clearway has been operating clean and reliable energy assets in Utah since 2008. We are proud to expand our presence and economic commitment in Utah with the Honeycomb portfolio, which will bring our total fleet in the state to 869MW. The Honeycomb battery energy storage systems represent not only a major investment in grid stability in Utah, but also advances Utah’s goal of energy security for the state.”
“We value our partnerships with our financial partners, PacifiCorp, and the Iron and Beaver County communities for their collective support in bringing reliable, dispatchable power to the region.”
