Corre Energy US Development Company LLC has entered into an exclusive agreement to acquire a 280 MW / 4.2 GWh energy storage project from Contour Energy, a Texas-based energy storage infrastructure developer. The buyout transaction is expected to close before the end of this year.
Established at the beginning of 2023 to acquire early-stage projects and build others on a greenfield basis, Corre Energy is the North American subsidiary of Corre Energy B.V., the Netherlands-based designer, developer, builder and operator of utility-scale long-duration energy storage projects.
Located in the West Texas region of ERCOT, the utility-scale storage project will be capable of continuously discharging 280 MW of electrical power for up to 15 hours, equating to 4.2 GWh of fully dispatchable electric energy storage capacity. The venture is targeted to achieve the financial investment decision stage in 2025 ahead of full commercial operation.
The project’s technology is based on compressed air energy storage, a fully commercial technology that can use renewable energy to compress air into underground salt caverns (already on site) when the demand for electricity is low and wholesale electricity prices are cheap. Electricity is then released to the grid when wholesale electricity demand and prices are higher.
Corre Energy recently declared its goal of having 1.3 GW of storage under construction by 2026. Highly favorable government policies in North America – notably the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act and similar financial stimulus in Canada – have created opportunities to expand Corre Energy B.V.’s project portfolio. This is the company’s first U.S. project acquisition.
“Our projects can offer investors predictable and stable income with revenue growth while delivering positive societal impact,” says Chet Lyons, president of Corre Energy US Development Company LLC. “We will continue to source more opportunities and, in the meantime, look forward to working with Contour Energy, the original developer of the Texas site, to deliver this important project.”
