OCI Energy, Nexus Renewable Power secure financing for Texas BESS projects

In 2024, OCI entered into a 20-year storage capacity agreement (SCA) with San Antonio, Texas utility CPS Energy, for the Alamo City BESS.

Under that agreement, OCI is responsible for the BESS’s development, financing, construction, and ownership, and CPS Energy will have operational control.

When the SCA was announced, the project was expected to enter commercial operation in the first half of 2026. It is now expected to enter commercial operation in Q3 2027.

In a recent interview with Energy-Storage.news Premium, OCI Energy President, Sabah Bayatli discussed the Alamo City’s 4-hour duration, which is a bit of a rarity in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) market, which typically sees 1 to 2-hour duration BESS projects being built.

Bayatli said, “The end-user for long-duration energy storage (LDES) more generally is utilities. They need to balance their own load and they think about that on a long-term basis. I think CPS will eventually use this project to balance its load.”

He continued, “A merchant project would typically not do 4-hours as they do their modelling on price spreads and their financial model will see a 1-2 hour system as optimal. They make their decision based on economics, while utilities have a more long-term view.”

In May, OCI signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with LG Energy Solutions’ US energy storage division, LG Energy Vertech, for the Alamo City BESS.

Under the terms of the MOU, LG Energy Solution Vertech will supply OCI with the BESS and energy management technology.

In the same interview with ESN Premium, which came before the LG announcement, Bayatli said of the selection process for the BESS supplier:

“The real challenge is for people financing a project now. If you have only shortlisted Chinese suppliers, you’ll have a problem. The tariffs shift you to beyond China, and you’ll probably have to wait for the 90 day (pause on higher tariffs) to pass. We have different manufacturers shortlisted, including some in the US. But the tariffs actually add more complexity to US-based suppliers with components from abroad, because you have numerous tariffs to take into account.”

Nexus Renewable Power secures US$220 million for solar-plus-storage project

Nexus Renewable Power has announced the closing of US$220 million of project funding for the MRG Goody solar-plus-storage project located in Lamar County, Texas.

Project Goody will combine a 171.72MWac solar project with a 237MWh energy storage project.

Tech giant Meta is the project’s power offtaker, and it claims it will help match the company’s data centre electricity use with clean and renewable energy.

Goldman Sachs is making a preferred equity investment in Project Goody to support the hybrid tax equity financing. Nexus also executed a tax credit purchase agreement for the project.

This aggregate financing complements the previously announced US$300 million construction-to-permanent financing facility with HPS Investment Partners and the US$100 million Nexus-Bad Carbon carbon credit financing joint venture.

Nexus says Project Goody is currently under construction and scheduled to open commercially in the fourth quarter of 2025. It is the first in a series of projects the company is developing and building.

Nexus also claims Goody will provide employment opportunities and economic benefits to Lamar County, “creating hundreds of construction jobs and contributing millions in long-term tax revenue to support the local school district and the community at large.”

Nexus is based in Plano, Texas. The company acquires and manages land holdings with developing and operating energy projects, develops, owns, and operates solar and storage facilities, and provides energy management and procurement services.