ACCIONA Energia Acquires 190 MW Battery Storage Project in Texas

ACCIONA Energía has signed an agreement with Qcells, a subsidiary of the South Korean industrial group Hanwha Corporation, to acquire the battery energy storage system (BESS) project Cunningham, the largest of its kind in Texas, scheduled for commissioning in the first quarter of 2023. The deal also includes the acquisition of a portfolio of over 1GW/2GWh of BESS projects at and advanced state of development.

The 190MW/380MWh Cunningham facility will be the largest operating battery energy storage project on the Texas grid upon commissioning next year. The facility, located 55 miles from Dallas, consists of 159 cabinets of 2.4MWh blocks manufactured by Sungrow and liquid-cooled cells manufactured by CATL.

The standalone battery storage facilities in this portfolio will supply power and ancillary services to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the independent system operator of most of the state.  ERCOT manages the transmission, distribution and commercialization of electricity for approximately 90% of the state’s electric load, one of the most active markets in storage worldwide.

All seven projects – the six under development and Cunningham – are eligible for the Investment Tax Credits (ITCs) offered by the US government to boost the deployment of renewables, increase energy security and help reduce the cost of energy under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

This transaction reinforces ACCIONA Energía’s position as a leader in utility scale storage technologies and a player in the energy transition in the United States, where it already operates more than 1GW of wind and concentrating solar power. The company also has a portfolio of four photovoltaic solar plants under construction: Fort Bend Solar (316 MWdc) and Red-Tailed Hawk Solar (460 MWdc), both in Texas; High Point Solar (127 MWdc) in Illinois; and Union County Solar (415 MWdc) in Ohio.