1. SRP will receive energy from Superstition and the Sierra Estrella project under long-term agreements.
2. Plus Power recently secured US$2 billion in financing for BESS, following previous investments in Texas and Arizona projects.
3. UBS and Captona have closed a preferred equity investment in a portfolio of four grid-scale BESS projects in Texas totaling 728MW/1,060MWh.
Arizona utility Salt River Project (SRP) has signed long-term agreements with the Sierra Estrella project and Superstition to provide energy under an all-source request for proposals launched in 2021. These projects will help SRP meet its target for energy storage to manage peak demand periods, with US$2 billion in financing secured for battery energy storage systems (BESS) by Plus Power. Plus Power also recently received a US$100 million tax equity investment for a project in Texas and a US$1.8 billion financing round for multiple projects.
Brandon Keefe, executive chairman of Plus Power, stated that the company is bringing energy storage into the mainstream of capital markets with these investments. The company has multiple projects in construction or operation in Texas and Arizona, with a total pipeline of 10GW of BESS. Interestingly, these investments were made through traditional tax equity investment rather than new transferability mechanisms introduced under the Inflation Reduction Act, which allows for easier buying and selling of tax credits associated with clean energy projects.
In other news, UBS Asset Management and Captona have closed an investment into a portfolio of four grid-scale BESS projects in Texas, totaling 728MW/1,060MWh. This ‘preferred equity investment’ allows for optimizing the value of tax credits without the need for a traditional tax equity partnership. The projects, ranging in size from 100-300MW, are expected to come online in 2024.