Equinor ASA has accepted its first two battery storage tasks within the USA in keeping with its bid to develop into a frontrunner within the power transition.
The 2 tasks have a mixed complete capability of 110 megawatts (MW), offering a priceless supply of power safety for the Texas grid as soon as operational, the corporate mentioned in a current information launch.
Equinor famous that building has begun on the Sundown Ridge Vitality Middle in Frio County, Texas; whereas its Citrus Flatts mission in Cameron County, Texas is being ready for implementation. As soon as operational, Citrus Flatts and Sundown Ridge are deliberate to be commercialized by Equinor’s wholly owned power buying and selling home, Danske Commodities.
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Equinor in July 2022 introduced its acquisition of 100% curiosity in privately owned U.S. battery storage developer East Level Vitality, headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia. The acquisition gives a platform for broadening its power choices within the USA, the corporate mentioned in an earlier assertion. East Level has a mission pipeline of roughly 3 gigawatts (GW) of battery storage tasks throughout the nation.
Sundown Ridge marks the primary battery storage mission for East Level Vitality in Texas and will likely be linked to the distribution community of South Texas Electrical Cooperative (STEC). The ten MW / 20 megawatt-hours (MWh) battery storage mission will strengthen reliability and allow STEC to raised serve its clients throughout peak demand, in keeping with the discharge. Equinor expects to start out industrial operations for Sundown Ridge within the second half of the 12 months.
Citrus Flatts will likely be a 100 MW / 200 MWh battery storage mission and will likely be linked to the transmission community American Electrical Energy. The mission is anticipated to achieve industrial operations in early 2026, Equinor outlined.
Sundown Ridge and Citrus Flatts will function on a completely service provider foundation in Texas’ ERCOT energy market and are anticipated to ship actual base mission returns in the direction of the upper finish of Equinor’s guided vary for renewables of 4 to eight p.c, it acknowledged.
“Vitality storage is crucial to steadiness the availability with the growing demand for power in Texas,” East Level Vitality CEO Andrew Foukal mentioned. “We’re excited that our tasks will help a extra renewable, resilient, and reasonably priced grid for the Cameron and Frio communities, and the ERCOT market at massive”.
“We purpose to construct a sturdy and diversified battery storage portfolio with a chance to scale, by leveraging the capabilities of East Level Vitality and maximizing synergies with Danske Commodities,” Christian Lie Hansen, vice chairman of onshore renewables Americas and chair of the East Level Vitality board, mentioned.
“Our possession in East Level Vitality creates a stable foundation for constructing a cloth and worthwhile battery storage place throughout enticing US energy markets, delivering on our market-driven energy producer technique,” Hansen added.
Equinor’s U.S. renewable power portfolio consists of offshore wind tasks corresponding to Empire Wind, off the coast of New York, and Atlas Wind, off the coast of California. Equinor can also be a associate in Bayou Bend CCS positioned in Southeast Texas and has been lively in upstream oil and fuel within the USA since 2004, it mentioned. The corporate’s subsidiary Equinor Renewables targets to put in 12 to 16 GW of renewables capability globally by 2030.
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