Recurrent Energy, LLC (“Recurrent”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canadian Solar Inc. (“Canadian Solar”) (NASDAQ: CSIQ), recently announced the acquisition of two standalone energy storage projects from Black Mountain Energy Storage (BMES). The projects, which are in the South Load Zone of the Texas ERCOT market, are each anticipated to store up to 200 MWh of energy. Both projects are currently in development and are anticipated to reach notice to proceed (NTP) in 2023 and begin operation in the second quarter of 2024.
Recurrent has developed 2.9 GWh of energy storage projects that are in construction or operation and has an additional pipeline of 15.5 GWh of projects under early to mid-stage development. The two standalone energy storage projects added to Recurrent’s development pipeline will be operated as merchant projects in the ERCOT market, providing dispatchable and reliable power to the grid. Recurrent will continue to develop the projects, finalize entitlements and designs, select and procure equipment, raise project financing, and construct the facilities.
Dr. Shawn Qu, chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar, said, “ERCOT is one of the fastest-growing markets in the world for energy storage, driven by market demand for flexible capacity. We are pleased to accelerate our ERCOT storage pipeline with the acquisition of two projects totaling 400 MWh of storage from Black Mountain Energy Storage. We look forward to bringing our storage development, financing, and construction experience to bear as we bring these projects to fruition and increase grid reliability for Texans.”
According to Wood Mackenzie’s US Energy Storage Monitor report, in 2021 annual deployments of grid-scale storage nearly tripled year-over-year, to over 3.5 gigawatts, with California and Texas as leaders. The South Zone in ERCOT is an attractive area for storage development due to the abundance of coastal wind and solar power. Battery storage enables stored power to be used during times of peak demand, improving reliability.
“It’s bittersweet to see these projects leave the nest, but I must say Recurrent picked them well. We ought to see pronounced volatility at these nodes for years to come, and these batteries will not only capture significant value but provide resiliency in a sparse region of ERCOT’s transmission network. Identifying challenged areas of the transmission network that produce outsized opportunities for spread capture is BMES’ core focus, and we have 3.0 GW of optimally sited ERCOT BESS projects in the hopper behind these two. We’re excited to see Recurrent Energy take each of these projects into the next phase of development and appreciate the expertise the folks at LevelTen Energy brought to the table to facilitate an efficient transaction process,” said Witt Duncan, Director of Corporate Development, BMES.
The transactions were executed through the LevelTen Asset Marketplace, a platform that connects clean energy project developers and financiers, and provides the software, analytics, and M&A transaction expertise they need to execute transactions quickly.
“The LevelTen Asset Marketplace provides a centralized platform for renewable energy project sales and delivers the tools buyers and sellers need to transact quickly. We are happy that our platform enabled the deal between Recurrent and Black Mountain Energy Storage, both of whom are doing pioneering work to accelerate storage and clean energy development,” said Patrick Worrall, vice president of Asset Marketplace, LevelTen Energy.
Source: Canadian Solar Inc.
