Spearmint Energy completes 300 MWh battery storage project in Texas
FILE – This photo shows part of a battery energy storage facility in Saginaw, Texas, April 25, 2023, that is owned and operated by Eolian L.P. The Energy Department is making a push to strengthen the U.S. battery supply chain, announcing Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023, up to $3.5 billion for companies that produce batteries and the critical minerals that go into them. (AP Photo/Sam Hodde, File)
Spearmint Energy announced the completion and start of commercial operation for Revolution, the Company’s 150 MW/300 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) project in West Texas.
Spearmint broke ground on Revolution in partnership with Mortenson, a developer and engineering services provider. The project reached mechanical completion following the delivery and installation of Sungrow’s PowerTitan Series battery energy storage system.
A workforce of 34 Mortenson craft team members and trade partners contributed approximately 42,000 working hours to install 134 battery containers containing 6,432 Sungrow battery modules, as well as 45 power conversion system (PCS) units, at Revolution. Revolution was completed on schedule and within budget, Spearmint said.
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“The project’s completion marks a major milestone for Spearmint as we cement our position as a leader in Texas’ fast-growing battery storage market,” said Andrew Waranch, Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Spearmint Energy. “We are grateful to our many partners, including Mortenson and Sungrow, for their hard work and zero-injury mentality throughout the construction and commissioning process, and look forward to supporting Texas’ growing demand for electricity – particularly in the face of climate change and rising natural gas and oil prices – for years to come.”
In October, Spearmint announced the close of a $92 million tax equity investment in Revolution provided by Greenprint Capital Management, marking one of the first applications of the Investment Tax Credit structure for a standalone battery energy storage system following the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act.
Also in October, Spearmint Energy announced the close of a $200 million credit facility with Aiga Capital Partners, an investment management firm providing capital solutions to North American-based companies developing sustainable infrastructure assets.
The term loan supports the development of Spearmint’s 1.2 GW/2.4 GWh portfolio of BESS assets in Texas’ ERCOT power market and the continued expansion of the company’s utility-scale storage portfolio across the U.S.
Besides Revolution, the rest of Spearmint’s portfolio of BESS assets in ERCOT is currently comprised of three battery energy storage projects, each with a target capacity of 300 MW, known collectively as Nomadic.
Battery woes in Texas
Throughout a half-dozen warnings and conservation requests over the end of the summer, grid-scale battery storage helped the Texas grid survive fossil fuel generation outages and a brutal heatwave.
But ERCOT, the grid operator, appears poised to implement new regulations that advocates say would stifle battery storage development in the state.
The rules would require battery storage assets to maintain a two-hour state of charge, but some battery companies say these new rules would slow growth and make their jobs harder.
Originally published in Power Engineering.
