Grid Scale

It’s a BESS! ISO New England welcomes first major utility-scale standalone battery storage facility

It’s a BESS! ISO New England welcomes first major utility-scale standalone battery storage facility
A rendering of the Cranberry Point Energy Storage project (Credit: Plus Power)

Plus Power has announced the close of construction and term financing for the first major utility-scale standalone battery storage system in construction on the New England grid, among other firsts for standalone storage in the region.

The Cranberry Point facility, located in Carver, Massachusetts, is intended to help stabilize the electric grid during the region’s increasing number of extreme weather events while helping to suppress volatile wholesale prices for ratepayers, Plus Power said.

The 150 MW / 300 MWh Cranberry Point Energy Storage facility was among the first few standalone batteries to ever clear the Forward Capacity Auction in 2021 with the Independent System Operator of New England, or ISO-NE. With that award, Cranberry Point committed to providing capacity to the ISO-NE market through 2031. In the same auction, Plus Power’s 175 MW / 350 MWh Cross Town Energy Storage facility in Gorham, Maine also won a capacity payment commitment from ISO-NE through 2031.

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Cranberry Point and Cross Town are the largest battery energy storage projects in construction with planned operations in New England and are expected to be online by the summer of 2025. The Cross Town Energy Storage project commenced construction in April 2024 and is now the largest battery coming online in the region, Plus Power said. The Cranberry Point facility, under construction since December 2023, is the second-largest and represents approximately a third of the Commonwealth’s goal to deploy 1,000 MWh of battery energy storage by 2025.

Plus Power said the announcement marks the first major financing of a utility-scale project that will benefit from Clean Peak Energy Certificates (CPECs), a relatively new incentive program unique to Massachusetts. The Commonwealth launched the Clean Peak Standard in 2020 to incentivize the pairing of emissions-free generation with seasonal peak demand.

Plus Power is now operating three battery storage facilities in Hawaii and Texas, including the Rodeo Ranch Energy Storage at nearly 300 MW / 600 MWh.  By summer 2024, Plus Power said it will have seven operating projects in Hawaii, Texas, and Arizona totaling 1,325 MW and 3,500 MWh. The company also boasts a growing portfolio of large-scale lithium-ion battery systems in more than 25 states and Canada and is currently executing on 10 GW of battery storage capacity in transmission interconnection queues.

First Citizens Bank and Nord LB acted as coordinating lead arrangers while Investec and Siemens Financial Services acted as joint lead arrangers. Investec is the administrative agent and U.S. Bank is the depositary bank. Sheppard Mullin acted as transaction counsel for Plus Power and Winston & Strawn acted as transaction counsel for the lenders. The $133 million financing includes a construction-to-term loan, bridge loan, and letter of credit facility.

“The Cranberry Point Energy Storage facility is poised to improve grid stability and reliability while also ensuring the efficient use of clean power in the region,” said Mike Lorusso, who leads First Citizens Bank’s Energy Finance business. “We were pleased to serve as coordinating lead arranger for this important battery storage project on behalf of Plus Power, which continues to build its reputation as a leader in the battery storage sector.”

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