ENGIE, a French utility company, has purchased Texas-based battery energy storage firm Broad Reach Power for $1 billion. This transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year, subject to approval from the antitrust and energy regulatory authorities. Broad Reach Power develops and operates clean energy and energy storage projects across Texas, California, and other markets in the US. Private equity firms EnCap and Apollo were the sellers. In December 2021, Apollo Funds acquired 50 percent of the company.
ENGIE will now control 880 MW of grid-scale battery assets under development and 350 MW of operational grid-scale battery assets as a result of the transaction in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) region. By the end of the next year, these projects are anticipated to be commissioned.
In October 2022, ENGIE acquired 6 GW of solar and battery storage capacity from Belltown Power in the US. The portfolio consisted of 33 solar, storage, and standalone battery storage installations spread over the ERCOT, PJM, MISO, and WECC1 regions. The capacity was made up of 2.7 GW of solar projects, 0.7 GW of paired storage projects, and 2.6 GW of stand-alone battery projects. No financial details of the deal were disclosed.
REGlobal’s Views: Like many other large energy companies, ENGIE has been focusing on expanding its energy storage portfolio. The company has acquired large storage capacities in recent months in order to build its storage portfolio. These projects are concentrated in Texas and California, two states with a lot of upcoming renewable energy capacity, and these upcoming storage projects will help maintain grid stability.
