$200M Indiana Battery Storage Plan Gains County Approval
A planned 200-MW battery storage project in deep southwestern Indiana cleared an important local hurdle this month.
Vanderburgh County Commissioners approved a request to site the $200 million Elliot Battery Energy Storage System near a Centerpoint Energy utility substation in Scott Township. The project reportedly would store excess wind and solar energy to deploy during periods of peak demand and high prices.
The concept of the Elliot BESS was created by German-based RWE’s Americas renewable energy division in 2024. RWE Americas has or is developing more than 13 GW of wind, solar and battery storage capacity in the U.S.
“Elliot BESS adds critical capacity to Indiana’s power grid, helping to stabilize electricity supplies and strengthen the state’s overall energy infrastructure,” reads RWE Americas website detailing the project still under development and with no announced timeline. “Through its advanced battery technology, Elliot BESS can discharge stored energy instantly, providing much-needed backup during emergency events such as storms or unexpected outages. By offering rapid-response power and improving the integration of intermittent generation like wind and solar, this project reduces reliance on imported fuels and supports state-of-the-art grid resiliency.”
Total U.S. battery storage installed capacity topped 52 GW nationwide this summer and has risen 70% over the past three years, according to federal data. Energy storage systems are valued both for storing renewables and smoothing out intermittencies of solar and wind, but also having versatility to deal with fluctuations in data center loads.
The facility is named after nearby Elliot Road in Vanderburgh County. The 41-acre project still requires other regulatory approvals before going into construction.
RWE Americas has not named a specific battery supplier for Elliot BESS, but companies such as Samsung and SMA Americas were selected to supply the developer’s Cartwheel and Crowned Heron battery installations under way in Texas.
More Battery Storage Headline Stories at EnergyTech.com
B2U Connects 28-MW of Second-Life Battery Storage to Texas Grid
Salt River Project’s Marigold Energy Center Combines 1.6 GW Solar, Storage and Gas Power
About the Author
EnergyTech Staff
Rod Walton is head of content for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 17 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.