Enel North America, the subsidiary of Italian utility Enel, has started operations at its 326MW solar-plus-storage plant in the US state of Texas.
The Stampede project started producing power in June 2024 for its solar PV part, while the 86MW battery energy storage system (BESS) is currently undergoing final commissioning.
The project is equipped with Sungrow SG3600UD-MV solar PV inverters, with each unit of 3.35MW, with 78 units enabling the metered output of 255MW of power, according to a Filing Receipt logged with the regulatory Public Utility Commission (PUC) of Texas. The document notes that the project is eligible for Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) for the 255MW net eligible generation.
Food and beverage giant Nestlé is the sole tax equity investor of the project and will also acquire the renewable energy generated from the solar PV plant, in which Enel owns 100% of the equity.
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This is not the first time both companies have partnered for a solar-plus-storage project in Texas. Last year, Enel NA and Nestlé partnered on the Ganado project, in Jackson County, with both an investment and 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA).
Stephen Pike, head of Enel North America’s renewable energy business, Enel Green Power North America, said: “The Stampede project will add more power generation to the grid at a time when demand is rising from electrification and data centers. Furthermore, its flexible battery storage system will help step in to stabilize the grid when conditions tighten.”
Enel’s interest in ERCOT market
This is the latest solar-plus-storage project in Texas powered by Enel. Earlier this year, the company started operations at the Fence Post project in Navarro County, as covered by our sister-site PV Tech. Similar to the Stampede project, it has an 86MW BESS installed along with 297MW of solar PV capacity.
On top of its latest solar-plus-storage projects in Texas, Enel brought five BESS projects online in ERCOT last year. The five projects combined for 369MW/555MWh of energy storage. In the past few years, Enel has been increasing its operational capacity for BESS projects, and setting itself as the largest BESS owner-operator in the the ERCOT, Texas market.
Energy-storage.news recently spoke with its CEO, Paolo Romanacci, about the status of the ERCOT market and more overall the BESS industry in the US. Romanacci highlighted the need for an increased domestic manufacturing industry (Premium access).
With nearly 5GW of large-scale BESS online in ERCOT, Texas is one of the leading markets for BESS in the US. In a recent conversation with Modo Energy (Premium access), one of the trends in the ERCOT market is that revenues are becoming more concentrated in a small number of days.
