Developer-operators Jupiter Power and On.Energy have secured a combined c.US$100 million in project financing for standalone battery energy storage system (BESS) projects in the ERCOT, Texas market.
First Citizens Bank and Jupiter Power have closed on a US$65 million financing for a 200MW/400MWh standalone BESS in Houston while On.Energy has secured construction and permanent debt facilities from Live Oak Bank totalling over US$40 million for a portfolio of projects totalling 80MWh.
On.Energy said its projects, grouped under the name ‘Palo Verde Projects’, will come online in Q3 2024 while Jupiter Power didn’t provide a commercial operation date (COD) for its larger system.
Jupiter Power
“Jupiter is excited to have closed financing for this very unique project, which answers the call from the Texas Legislature to build more dispatchable power in ERCOT and near major load centres where consumers need it the most,” said Andrew Bowman, CEO of Jupiter.
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The announcement follows Jupiter and First Citizens’ recent collaboration for a similarly-sized facility for a two projects totalling 320MWh, also in ERCOT, covered by Energy-Storage.news in July.
On.Energy
On.Energy meanwhile said that its financing package also includes an investment tax credit (ITC) transfer deal, possible under the Inflation Reduction Act’s new transferability mechanism.
The company said the financed portfolio included greenfield development projects as well as some acquired in mid-2023, and is part of a larger 1GWh pipeline in Texas, California ‘and beyond’, with a follow-on portfolio of projects totalling 160MWh expected to reach COD in Q3 2025.
On.Energy CEO Alan Cooper talked Energy-Storage.news through the company’s move in focus from its core markets in Latin America to the US, in May (Premium access).
“On.Energy has closed a capital solution for our assets at a time when many are still trying to sort out the Inflation Reduction Act and its implications,” said On.Energy CFO David Fernandes, commenting on the recent financing package.
Live Oak Bank provided the construction debt as well as long-term debt financing under the United States Department of Agriculture Business & Industry loan guarantee programme.
‘Industry-first’ insurance-backed revenue floor for BESS
The announcements by On.Energy and Jupiter Power coincide with one from risk transfer solutions firm New Energy Risk and software and consulting firm Ascend Analytics which they claimed is an industry-first.
The companies have closed an energy storage insurance policy which will provide coverage for the performance of Ascend’s battery storage forecasting and bidding optimisation platform. It will enable the platform to provide a revenue floor for a project over a multi-year term.
It will differ from other revenue risk transfer solutions in that it offers minimum revenues while allowing the project access to upside revenue from lucrative, high-volatility events in ERCOT. A revenue cap, for example, would reduce this ability.
And with ERCOT BESS projects often making most of their year’s revenue from a few, high-volatility events, that could be significant.
Energy-Storage.news’ publisher Solar Media will host the 5th Energy Storage Summit USA, 19-20 March 2024 in Austin, Texas. Featuring a packed programme of panels, presentations and fireside chats from industry leaders focusing on accelerating the market for energy storage across the country. For more information, go to the website.
