Bocanova's 150-MW Battery Array Ready for Houston Peak Demand

The latest utility-scale battery storage project has come online to strengthen and stabilize the Texas grid.

Nightpeak Energy’s 150-MW Bocanova Power battery array in Brazoria County achieved commercial operation late this summer. The battery project is capable of two-hour duration and helping respond to the Houston area’s peak capacity needs.

"This battery storage project will enhance grid reliability in the Alvin area while continuing to support integrating renewable energy,” Cary Perrin, president and CEO of the Northern Brazoria County Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement. “I believe we need energy storage now more than ever for its pivotal role in reducing strain on the grid while meeting fast-growing power demand in Texas and Brazoria County."

The project uses Tesla's Megapack 2 XL battery storage systems manufactured in Lathrop, California. The facility operates under a long-term power purchase agreement with an investment grade power purchaser.

Texas is the nation’s leader in new battery storage and has tripled its installed capacity to more than 9 GW in just the past two years, according to reports. Energy storage helps balance the intermittency of renewable energy assets on the grid and offers added dispatchable power on the Electric Reliability Council of Texas system, which has been vulnerable to outages and peak demand challenges in the past.

“Unprecedented AI data center and manufacturing growth has only accelerated the need for dispatchable capacity resources,” said Paris Hays, Co-founder and CEO/CDO, Nightpeak Energy. “Nightpeak now owns and operates 240 MW of battery storage and natural gas generation facilities, with more energy infrastructure projects on the way in Texas and in the Western U.S."

Nord/LB and MUFG Bank served as co-lead arrangers on the debt financing which included a tax equity bridge loan, construction to term loan, and letters of credit. Traditional tax equity partnership financing was also utilized for this transaction.