Greenbacker Capital expands battery fleet with purchase of 4-hour, 30-MW California storage system

Greenbacker Capital expands battery fleet with purchase of 4-hour, 30-MW California storage system | Utility Dive

Greenbacker Capital Management is expanding its energy storage portfolio and on Wednesday announced the purchase of a 30-MW/120-MWh battery system in Imperial County, California. The Holtville battery energy storage system, or BESS, will be the largest standalone storage asset in GCM’s clean energy portfolio, the company said.

The project, expected to come online in the third quarter of this year, will help California meet its clean energy goals and storage targets, the company said.

California wants to deliver 100% clean energy by 2045. The state’s Clean Energy Transition Plan estimates 19,500 MW of battery storage will come online by 2035, and 52,000 MW by 2045, to meet the goal.

The state’s battery storage fleet is expected to reach 5,000 MW this year, according to the plan.

“Utility-scale energy storage is central to both our investment thesis and our broader mission of empowering a sustainable world,” said Mehul Mehta, Greenbacker’s chief information officer.

Greenbacker has more than 450 renewable energy projects around the country, including solar, wind and storage, according to the company’s web site.

Greenbacker is purchasing the Holtville BESS project from SunCode Energy. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but GCM said the project “has a long-term power purchase agreement in place with an investment-grade utility.”

The system’s 120-MWh capacity is enough energy to power more than 4,100 homes for a 24-hour period, the company said.

Purchase of the Holtville project is GCM’s first deal with SunCode, but it may not be its last.

SunCode Managing Director XJ Chen said the company is looking forward to “expanding our partnership with Greenbacker on more solar and battery storage projects in the future.”

California’s storage resources could yield net grid benefits of up to $1.6 billion a year by 2032, according to a report put together by Lumen Energy Strategy for the California Public Utilities Commission.