IPP Eolian has closed a US$463 million financing package to support the continued construction of Padua 2 and Padua 3, two battery energy storage systems (BESS) totalling 350MW/1.7GWh in Bexar County, Texas.
This financing, arranged by Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking, enables the completion of the final phases of the Padua Complex, making it, according to Eolian, the largest battery energy storage project in Texas and one of the largest worldwide.
Earlier this month, Eolian and utility CPS Energy began operating Padua 1, the 50MW/100MWh BESS and the first phase of the Padua Complex.
In 2023, CPS signed a storage capacity agreement for Padua 1 with Eolian.
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The Padua Complex is expected to be completed in the Spring of 2026, and will provide 400MW/1.8GWh of capacity, sited adjacent to the retiring J.K. Spruce coal plant units and the V.H. Braunig natural gas power plant.
Eolian says the substation location is “critical”, governing south-to-north transmission flows in Texas.
In 2018, the Eolian team identified Padua’s location at a San Antonio transmission hub as a power flow pinch point, which ERCOT also highlighted in 2023 as requiring additional generating resources, including mobile units.
Construction started earlier this summer on Padua 2, with a capacity of approximately 150MW/750MWh, and Padua 3, with a capacity of approximately 200MW/1,000MWh.
All three projects utilise battery energy storage equipment supplied by Tesla.
Eolian will develop, construct, and operate all three phases of the Padua complex with its in-house asset and optimisation teams.
The US$463 million financing package, arranged by Natixis CIB, covers construction, a term loan, and letter of credit facilities.
By funding Padua 2 and 3 in one closing, Eolian says it guarantees that construction proceeds smoothly, allowing the projects to meet their scheduled operational start dates in Winter and Spring 2026.
H.I.G. Capital-backed energy platform, Greenflash Infrastructure, also recently closed on a hybrid tax capital and debt financing for what it claims to be the largest standalone BESS in Texas, the 400MW/800MWh Project Soho.
Mike Snyder, Vice President of Energy and Charging at Tesla, said of the Padua project:
“The Padua Complex is one of Tesla’s largest global Megapack deployments to date. The 1.8GWh project demonstrates the role batteries play in improving grid utilisation and enabling more efficient operation of all power generation connected to the grid,”
Energy-Storage.news’ publisher Solar Media will host the 12th edition of the Solar & Storage Finance USA event on 21-22 October 2025 in New York.
Panellists will discuss the fate of US solar and storage in a post-subsidy world, the evolving economics of standalone BESS and de-risking solar and storage supply chains.
Attendees are encouraged to respond to an anonymous survey on the US solar and storage sector, that will shape discussions at the summit. Tickets for the event are available on the official website.
