SUSI Partners has secured tax equity investment for a 100MW battery portfolio in south Texas, US.
Acting on behalf of the SUSI Energy Transition Fund (SETF) and US clean energy developer SMT Energy, SUSI Partners secured the investment from specialist tax equity investor Greenprint Capital for the co-owned portfolio located in South Texas.
With all assets expected to start commercial operations in the coming months, the investment signals a high level of confidence in the assets’ ability to operate successfully in the ERCOT electricity market, SUSI stated.
The 100MW battery storage portfolio was developed by SMT Energy, which managed the assets during construction and will continue overseeing commercial operations as minority owner.
The portfolio consists of 10 utility-scale standalone battery energy storage projects that will help stabilise strained power grids in the region by balancing mismatches of electricity supply and demand.
In the US, battery energy storage systems became eligible for investment tax credits (ITC) after passage of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which takes account of the growing importance of battery storage technology in balancing electricity grids and enabling the shift to renewable energy supplies.
The majority of projects in the SETF Texas battery storage portfolio furthermore qualify for a higher ITC rate due to their contribution to the economic transition of so-called Energy Communities, which historically have been disproportionately reliant on the fossil fuel industry and equally burdened by the resulting pollution.
In addition to an Italian clean energy platform, which has a 650MW pipeline of battery storage projects, SUSI’s Fund invests in battery storage assets in the US through its partnerships with SMT Energy and Vermont-based Encore Renewable Energy.