Portfolio Expansion in The USA: RWE Completes Three US Large-scale Battery Storage Facilities in Texas And Arizona
Essen / Austin, USA - As part of its green growth strategy in the USA, the Essen-based energy group RWE has completed three further large-scale battery storage facilities with a total storage capacity of 190 MW (361 MWh).
The three new battery storage facilities Bright Arrow: 100 MW (200 MWh) and Big Star 80 MW (120 MWh) in Texas and Mesquite 4: 10 MW (40 MWh) in Arizona are directly linked to solar plants. Surplus solar power can be stored directly and fed into the grid at a later date.
"Battery storage is growing even more critical to enable the rapid deployment of wind and solar projects, help stabilize the U.S. power grid and better ensure that enough electric supply is available to meet demand. As part of our Growing Green Strategy, we’re planning to increase our battery portfolio globally to 6 gigawatts by 2030", says Andrew Flanagan, CEO of RWE Clean Energy, welcoming the completion of the new battery storage facilities.
In Germany, RWE commissioned a large-scale battery in Lingen and Werne with a total capacity of 117 MW at the beginning of 2023. RWE is currently building a large-scale 220 MW battery storage project at two locations in North Rhine-Westphalia. A 35 MW storage facility is also being built at RWE's Eemshaven power plant in the Netherlands. In addition, RWE acquired the British developer JBM Solar in 2023, which has a development pipeline of 2.3 gigawatts of battery storage projects. RWE is implementing innovative PV storage power plants in its German opencast mines.
Furthermore, RWE has won a tender for a long-term battery storage system (50 MW/400 MWh) in Australia. In the USA, the company connected its first large-scale storage facility to the Californian electricity grid in 2023. Fifth Standard is coupled with a 150 MW photovoltaic plant in Fresno County, California, and at 137 MW is RWE's largest battery storage facility to date.
Source: IWR Online, 15 Feb 2024
