Dallas-based Hunt Energy Network formed a venture with Manulife Investment Management to develop 500 MW of energy storage within the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).
The new company will be called HEN Infrastructure and will develop and manage a portfolio of distribution-level energy storage assets in ERCOT, dispatched by Hunt Energy Network’s TraDER platform.
The assets are intended to provide ERCOT with distributed, coordinated, fast-responding generation and load resources to balance power across the grid. The TraDER platform will automate trading and settlement activities.
HEN Infrastructure currently has 100 MW of energy storage assets in development across ERCOT with operations targeted for the first quarter of 2022. The firm has another 400 MW that it hopes to deploy over the following 36 months.
Investment bank Javelin Capital acted as advisor to Hunt Energy Network on the transaction. Hunt is led by Pat Wood III, a former chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Public Utility Commission of Texas.
More storage for ERCOT
It’s been a bit of March Madness for energy storage in ERCOT. Wärtsilä said it will supply energy storage technology for two projects with a combined rated capacity of 200 MW in south Texas. The Madero and Ignacio plants will provide grid support, including frequency regulation, to ERCOT.
The order was placed by Able Grid Energy Solutions, a utility-scale energy storage project development arm of MAP RE/ES. Wärtsilä has also signed 10-year guaranteed asset performance agreements for the equipment. As part of the deal, Wärtsilä will supply its GridSolv Quantum energy storage technology as well as a management platform to monitor and control energy flow.
And earlier in the month, it was reported that an entity linked to Tesla will develop a 100 MW lithium-ion battery energy storage facility south of Houston. Gambit Energy Storage could have the grid-connected facility in service by June.
The project would include lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4 or “LFP”) batteries, similar to those used in portable electronic devices such as laptops, mobile phones, electric bikes, and cars. The project site is near a 138 kV substation in Angleton, Texas, and would offer black start capability to help the ERCOT grid recover after a blackout.
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