The world’s largest battery could be in the development stages and it’s very likely that it will help power Texas’ high-producing oil country.

A 495-megawatt (MW) storage system is expected to be built in tandem with a solar farm of the equal size in Borden County, Texas. According to a Bloomberg report, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas Inc. recently posted the details in a chart that show Texas’ battery storage will surge more than six-fold to 584 MW when the project is completed. The anticipated completion date is May 2021.

The project, which is being developed by IP Juno of Intersect Power LLC, will help meet the demands in the Permian Basin. There seems to be irony in this move because the Permian Basin is known for its supreme production of fossil fuel yet the West Texas oil patch will need to use of renewable energy as an electricity resource to help power the oil and gas drilling production in the area.

"Solar developers are becoming more sophisticated on how to add value to new off-takers with renewable and storage technologies,” said Emily Easley,  principle with ERE Strategies, a consulting firms that works with fossil fuel companies on expanding their businesses to include clean energy. “As oil and gas operators begin to look at these new technologies as part of their strategy to maximize asset management efficiency, it is important they are working with companies that understand the full life-cycle of these technologies."

But Intersect Power CEO and co-founder Sheldon Kimber was non-committal about the project when contacted about the bigger battery project.

“We make a lot of filings and hold lots of land positions for many reasons across our portfolio, the bulk of them never reach operations,” Kimber wrote in response to an interview request from Hart Energy about the project. “This is the nature of our business.  Beyond that I can't comment on the status of this filing.” 

Vista Energy Corp recently completed a 10-MW system that is connected to a solar far and that is the biggest battery storage facility in Texas. But according to a state property tax application obtained by Bloomberg, the IP Juno project has outlined plans to construct its 400-MW solar plant in 2021.

 

Onshore