This edition of US news in brief features EDP’s completed 800MWh Arizona project, Pathway Power’s US$150 million financing and self-drive taxi company Waymo’s second-life BESS partnership.
EDP Renewables North America, Salt River Project celebrate Arizona commissioning
EDP Renewables North America (EDPR NA) and Arizona public power utility Salt River Project (SRP) announced the completion of the Flatland Energy Storage project on 9 June, a 200MW/800MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) in Coolidge, Pinal County, Arizona.
The facility uses Tesla lithium-ion technology and is set to absorb surplus energy when consumption is low and dispatch it during peak demand.
The project, which represents the largest BESS within the EDP Group’s global portfolio, is co-located with the 200MW Brittlebush Solar Park, a separate SRP and EDPR NA collaboration that supplies power to a Meta data centre, giving the operator the option to charge from either the grid or on-site solar generation.
Try Premium for just $1
- Full premium access for the first month at only $1
- Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
- Cancel anytime during the trial period
Premium Benefits
- Expert industry analysis and interviews
- Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
- Exclusive event discounts
Or get the full Premium subscription right away
Or continue reading this article for free
EDPR NA now has approximately 600MW of solar and storage operating capacity across Arizona.
SRP associate general manager Bobby Olsen said the project forms part of the utility’s “all-of-the-above approach to providing reliable, affordable and sustainable power,” and that the utility intends to continue investing in battery storage as part of its growing resource portfolio.
The completion comes as Arizona faces some of the fastest electricity demand growth in the US, driven by data centre expansion and population growth across the Phoenix metro area.
Pathway Power closes financing for SPP and MISO project pipeline
On 5 June, San Diego-based Pathway Power confirmed it had closed a US$150 million senior-secured facility from funds managed by AB CarVal, an investment manager within AllianceBernstein’s Private Alternatives business.
The facility will support late-stage development needs across Pathway Power’s pipeline, including interconnection, execution of power purchase agreements, equipment deposits, and other pre-construction and construction equity costs.
The financing closed alongside a separate undisclosed equity investment in the company.
Pathway Power, founded in 2022, has a pipeline of 13 hybrid and standalone BESS projects totalling approximately 3.2GWac, targeting the Southwest Power Pool and Midcontinent Independent System Operator regions, where demand for grid-scale storage is growing due to data centre development and industrial reshoring.
Pathway Power CEO Jam Attari said AB CarVal’s involvement was “meaningful validation of our project fundamentals.”
Since 2017, AB CarVal has deployed more than US$4.5 billion in energy transition investments across a portfolio that now manages approximately US$22 billion in assets.
The financing landscape for US storage developers has grown increasingly competitive. As Energy-Storage.news reported last month, ESVolta closed a US$450 million expanded credit facility to grow its US BESS portfolio, with the deal reflecting an increasing appetite from institutional lenders for exposure to contracted and merchant battery storage cash flows across multiple US markets.
The Pathway Power facility, structured as senior-secured pre-construction debt rather than an operating asset credit facility, targets an earlier point in the development cycle, a structure that addresses the gap between early-stage equity and construction financing that has historically slowed pipeline conversion rates for smaller US developers.
B2U Storage Solutions scores supply agreement with Waymo
On the supply chain side, second-life energy storage firm B2U Storage Solutions has secured a strategic supply agreement with autonomous vehicle company Waymo.
Once retired from automotive use, the battery packs that power Waymo’s fleet of all-electric vehicles (EVs) will be installed into grid-scale battery energy storage systems BESS
The repurposing process captures residual value that would otherwise be lost, since a battery that is no longer fit for use in an EV can retain as much as 70% of its capacity. B2U said that use in BESS can extend the functional life of lithium-ion batteries by several years.
The firm manages the units through a second life and then ensures they are recycled at the end of their life.
Freeman Hall, CEO of B2U, said: “By extending the use of these batteries as grid storage, we are monetising the full potential of EV batteries, now providing crucial stability to the power grid as energy demand continues to grow.”
As the fleet of EVs on the road ages out of use, gigawatts of capacity will become available.
B2U has a portfolio of four operational BESS projects, three in California and one in Texas, with a further three sites due to come online this year. It uses patented EV pack storage (EPS) technology for plug-and-play EV battery deployment, eliminating remanufacturing costs.
As a result, its assets have a low levelised cost of storage (LCOS) while delivering grid-services revenue equal to that from first-life BESS, the company said.
This section first appeared on our sister site EV Infrastructure News under the title: ‘B2U Storage Solutions scores supply agreement with Waymo’ and was written by Molly Green.
