• Exclusive Content
  • Events
  • Endeavor Business Media Energy
    1. Energy Storage

    RWE Completes 3 BESS Projects Totaling 190 MW in Texas and Arizona

    Feb. 16, 2024
    The three projects – Bright Arrow, Big Star, and Mesquite 4 – will bring RWE’s total battery storage capacity to about 512 MW in the US
    RWE
    65cf8282820724001e167ca4 Rwe

    RWE is expanding its green energy portfolio with the completion of three battery energy storage systems (BESS) totaling 190 MW (361 MWh) in Texas and Arizona as part of its Growing Green Strategy.

    The three projects – Bright Arrow, Big Star, and Mesquite 4 – will bring RWE’s total battery storage capacity to about 512 MW in the US. Each project is also paired with solar, allowing them to store excess energy and return it to the grid in the future.

    The three BESS projects include:

    1. Bright Arrow: 100 MW (200 MWh) battery storage with 300 MWac solar PV project in Sulphur Springs, Texas. The project came online in December 2023, with an additional 200 MWac of solar scheduled to achieve commercial operation by Spring 2024. The BESS will participate in the ERCOT market, and the solar PV electricity output will be provided to an affiliate of NRG Energy.
    2. Big Star: 80 MW (120 MWh) battery storage and 200 MWac solar PV project in Bastrop County, Texas. Big Star is completing the testing and is scheduled to achieve commercial operation in March 2024. The BESS will participate in the ERCOT market, and the solar PV electricity output will be provided to a third party.
    3. Mesquite 4: 10 MW (40 MWh) battery storage and 52.5 MWac solar project in Maricopa County, Arizona, which is expected to come online in late February 2024. The solar PV electricity output and BESS services will be provided to Modesto Irrigation District (MID).

    RWE’s battery storage capacity is about 700 MW, with more than 1 GW under construction globally.

    A 220 MW project is being constructed at two locations in North Rhine-Westphalia, and a 35 MW BESS is being developed at RWE’s Eemshaven power plant in the Netherlands.

    “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,” said Andrew Flanagan, CEO of RWE Clean Energy. “As part of our Growing Green Strategy, we’re planning to increase our battery portfolio globally to 6 gigawatts by 2030, and these three new systems are contributing to that goal.”

    About the Author

    EnergyTech Staff

    Rod Walton is senior editor for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 14 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.

    Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    He can be reached at [email protected]. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.