Spain's Uriel Renovables to develop 675 MW of BESS in the US

Spanish renewables developer-operator Uriel Renovables said on Wednesday it had started developing 675 MW of battery energy storage system (BESS) projects in the US states of Texas and Massachusetts.

The firm, through its Texas-based subsidiary, reached an agreement with a local developer to acquire the projects in different stages as part of the effort to expand in the US. It said that the operation involves an investment of EUR 600 million (USD 645.1m).

The Texas portfolio promises 600 MW of total capacity within the footprint of the local grid operator ERCOT. The average size of the projects is 150 MW. All of them are eligible to benefit from the tax incentives provided by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, Uriel Renovables said.

In Massachusetts, the company will develop 75 MW of BESS projects, averaging 5 MW with a storage capacity of two hours. The commissioning will happen in phases, starting in 2024 and finalising in 2026.

The Massachusetts projects are being developed with regional grid operator ISO New England. Uriel aims to make them part of the Massachusetts Clean Peak Energy Standard, a programme designed to provide incentives to clean energy technologies that can supply electricity or reduce demand during peak demand periods.

“In the US, they are one step ahead of the rest of the world in storage,” commented Uriel Renovables president Ignacio Huarte, adding that this was the reason why the company chose this market as it seeks to boost its activity in the storage segment.

“The knowledge acquired in the development of these projects in Massachusetts and Texas can be applied in the other eight countries where we operate, because we are convinced that it is a solution that is going to become more and more necessary," Huarte said.

Uriel Renovables is part of family-owned business group Uriel Investments. As a renewables company, it has developed, built and operates wind, small hydro, solar photovoltaic, biogas and solar thermal plants. It is active in Spain, Poland, Portugal, the US, Puerto Rico, South Africa and Latin America, according to its website.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.075)

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