ENGIE: 1 Gigawatt of Battery Storage Capability Added In USA This Yr

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I simply wrote about how battery vitality storage is massively serving to to increase the usefulness of photo voltaic vitality into the night in California. It’s rapidly remodeling the California electrical energy grid. Then I noticed this information from ENGIE, because of one in every of our content material curators. ENGIE has now reached greater than 1.8 gigawatts (GW) of put in battery vitality storage system (BESS) capability in the USA, and 1 GW of that was simply added since January 2024! (Aspect be aware: ENGIE makes use of the time period GW, which refers to energy storage capability, all through the information launch … besides in a single place, the place the corporate says “The ENGIE portfolio of BESS gives dispatchable vitality, which in complete is now able to offering round 1.8 GWh throughout the mix of ERCOT and CAISO – able to dispatch at a second’s discover.” So, it’s not clear what the case is right here — the corporate may have each 1.8 GW and 1.8 GWh of BESS capability put in, or it might be referring to a type of with the incorrect metric in some locations. I’m going to imagine the previous.)

California isn’t mentioned or highlighted a lot right here, however ENGIE should be enjoying a job and does point out CAISO (the California Impartial System Operator) briefly. The opposite large state working quickly to combine renewables into the grid is highlighted, although. That might be Texas. “With 24 initiatives now working throughout the U.S., of which 6 had been commissioned this 12 months, ENGIE is among the many largest operators of BESS within the nation, and one of many largest impartial operators of batteries supporting the ERCOT system in Texas,” the corporate writes.

“This new milestone strengthens ENGIE’s place as a pacesetter of the vitality transition in the USA, the place the Group already has vital footprints via its renewable property and its vitality administration platform,” ENGIE notes.
“The expansion in ENGIE’s BESS fleet was accelerated by the pivotal acquisition of business chief Broad Attain Energy (BRP) in August 2023. The profitable integration of BRP has not solely added to ENGIE’s present portfolio of growth initiatives, however critically included business main options, experience and expertise. ENGIE now brings elevated flexibility to the grid, permitting a greater integration of renewable energies and thus contributes to hurry up the vitality transition.”

That is going to be the story increasingly more in Texas, as in California, and naturally in different markets across the nation and the world as they add extra renewable vitality to the grid. The BESS market goes to completely explode within the coming decade or two. ENGIE is actually properly outfitted to revenue from that.

“We’re extraordinarily happy with the supply of so many battery initiatives over the previous 12 months, enabling ENGIE to play a number one function in including storage and different ancillary providers to the grid in a fabric approach” stated David Carroll, Chief Renewables Officer and Senior VP, ENGIE North America. “Storage and different providers are vital additions to assist grid reliability. I’m honored that on numerous events this summer season, ENGIE has been one of many largest contributors of storage dispatch into the ERCOT system for instance – serving to to steadiness the grid at among the most crucial moments.”

The corporate has been putting in each standalone initiatives and initiatives co-located with photo voltaic PV energy vegetation. The initiatives additionally cowl a variety of sizes — from 10 MW to 200 MW in energy capability (once more, the corporate doesn’t point out vitality storage capability right here, solely energy capability). The biggest solar energy mission ENGIE’s storage methods are related to is the 320 MW “5 Wells” solar energy plant in Bell County, TX.

ENGIE has additionally been growing photo voltaic and wind vitality energy vegetation for years. The corporate has 8 GW of photo voltaic and wind energy initiatives in operation or in building throughout North America.

Featured picture courtesy of ENGIE.