Agilitas Energy has agreed to acquire a portfolio of six standalone energy storage system (ESS) projects in the Greater Houston area from Gulf States Renewable Energy, a subsidiary of GSR Energy. The deal is valued at approximately $75 million and accelerates the company’s growth outside the U.S. Northeast as part of its national expansion plan.
The acquisition is Agilitas Energy’s largest acquisition since raising $350 million from CarVal Investors last year for the purpose of national expansion. The acquisition and new market entry will add 60 MW to the company’s renewable energy and battery storage project pipeline of more than 1 GW.
The projects will operate in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which manages the flow of electric power to more than 26 million Texas customers — representing about 90% of the state’s electric load. ERCOT, as the independent system operator for the region, represents an opportunity for Agilitas Energy to tap into a market increasingly focused on renewables. As more renewable facilities are built that produce intermittent power, consumers could face increased price volatility that can be stabilized by energy storage solutions.
The battery storage systems will deliver low-cost energy for customers of Houston-based utility CenterPoint Energy. It will enhance the grid’s reliability and resiliency by charging their batteries from the grid at low peak, when there is excess energy and costs are lower, and then subsequently discharging that energy when demand is high.
“Texas has always represented the holy grail of energy and is one of our key expansion markets because it’s a leader in energy production, energy consumption and renewables. With this new foothold, our Agilitas Energy team is taking a pivotal step to build value-added energy solutions to a market increasingly burgeoning with renewables,” said Barrett Bilotta, president, CEO and cofounder of Agilitas Energy. “We plan to continue to be at the forefront of the energy transition, bringing renewable projects online in our target expansion markets with the team of experts and technology required to usher in the next generation of energy.”
Bilotta added that the company’s strategy is to continue expanding into new geographies.
“We’re also planning to bolster our renewable portfolio to include sources beyond solar, partnering with other leading renewable developers to achieve these goals as necessary,” he said
Each of the six projects has an identical design with battery supply from BYD Energy batteries and a system size of 9.96 MW/20.721 MWh. Two of the six projects are expected to begin commercial operation in 2023, with the other four following in 2024. Agilitas Energy expects to purchase each of the six projects in the portfolio when they are fully permitted and ready for construction.
“We look forward to helping accelerate the energy transition in this key region of North America,” said Mark Tholke, managing principal of Gulf States Renewable Energy and GSR Energy.
— Solar Builder magazine
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