Acciona Energía has signed an agreement with Qcells to acquire the 190MW Cunningham battery energy storage project, the largest in the State of Texas, due online in the first quarter of 2023.
The agreement also includes a portfolio of six projects in an advanced stage of development in Texas exceeding 1GW, with a combined capacity of more than 2 gigawatt hours GWh per cycle.
The Cunningham battery will have a capacity of 380 megawatt hours per cycle and will be one of the largest batteries on the Texas grid when it comes online.
The facility, located 34 km from Dallas, is composed of 159 blocks of 2.4MWh manufactured by Sungrow and liquid cooling cells manufactured by CATL.
The storage batteries in the portfolio acquired from Qcells are not tied to any specific generation plant and will supply power and ancillary services to the Texas Electric Reliability Council (ERCOT).
ERCOT is the independent grid operator that manages the transmission, distribution and marketing of 90% of Texas electricity, one of the most active markets in the deployment of storage systems worldwide.
Both Cunningham and the six projects under development are eligible for the tax incentives (ITCs) provided for in the Inflation Reduction Act that the US government has implemented to boost the deployment of renewables, increase energy security and help reduce the cost of energy.
Rafael Mateo, CEO of Acciona Energía, said: “We have been working on battery storage for more than 10 years and we believe that the technology is ready for commercial deployment and included in our growth strategy.
“This transaction is an important milestone as it includes the largest commercial project in one of the most developed storage markets in the world. With 1214MW of renewable capacity operating and under construction in Texas, the transaction is a good opportunity to strengthen Acciona Energía’s presence in this market and optimise the risk profile of our portfolio,” he said.
Jae Kyu Lee, President of Qcells USA Corp, added: “Qcells is proud to provide our unique construction and engineering solutions to Acciona Energía to bring this project to life and look forward to further advancing our long-term collaboration.
“We believe these projects will benefit the entire Texas energy sector by making clean and reliable energy more accessible to all.”