(Credit: Canva Pro)Cleantech integrator Ameresco said it has secured four large battery energy storage system projects co-located at gas power plants owned by Middle River Power. The BESS projects will add a projected 379 megawatt hours to the California power grid.
Middle River Power is an independent power company wholly owned by global investment firm Avenue Capital. The installation of the new large-scale energy storage systems will improve MRP’s natural gas power plants’ efficiency, reduce emissions and increase the capability of the California power grid.
MRP operates 10 natural gas power plants, including eight in California. According to Ameresco, the four energy system projects are in line with the state’s 100% renewable energy goal by 2045.
“Energy storage is pivotal for ensuring resource adequacy and resiliency in California,” Britta MacIntosh, executive vice president and general manager of West and Europe regions, Ameresco, said in a statement. “To better prepare California for unforeseen disruptions to the grid, our team will work in concert with Middle River Power to fully integrate emission-reducing battery energy storage technology into four of its California-based gas power plants to ensure we meet California’s clean energy goals.”
MRP has 12 other active projects in the pipeline and has completed two development projects in California, including a grid-scale solar plus storage project and a standalone storage project co-located with a geothermal facility. Work on the latest four BESS projects is expected to kick off in summer 2023, with completion in the third quarter of 2024.
News of the contracts comes just a few months after another BESS project was confirmed. In March, Fengate announced it closed on a new development partnership with Alpha Omega Power to build a U.S. BESS development platform. Last year, the largest BESS project in Northern California was also secured.
Ameresco has also been recently involved in other new projects, including a joint venture with Atura Power to build a 250-megawatt, 1 gigawatt-hour BESS for the Independent Electricity System Operator in Canada. The company has also recently announced sustainable energy partnerships elsewhere in the U.S. and Europe.
Editor’s note: Don’t miss the virtual Environment+Energy Leader Solutions Summit ’23 on July 18-19. Learn tangible, innovative solutions to help with sustainable transitions across industries. Speakers from companies and organizations including Schneider Electric, Cority, Jump Associates, Mycocycle, Plainsight, LRQA, the Alliance to Save Energy, and many more will share tactics and lessons that can help you solve your energy management, sustainability, and ESG challenges. Learn more about the #EESummit23, and then register today!
