Battery energy storage system (BESS) developer Plus Power announced the close of term financing for the Cranberry Point Energy Storage facility, which will be the second largest energy storage facility in Massachusetts and provide capacity and stability to the Independent System Operator of New England (ISO-NE) market.
Located in Carver, Massachusetts, the 150-MW/300-MWh utility-scale standalone battery storage system will help stabilize the New England electric grid during events of extreme weather and help suppress volatile wholesale prices.
For the $133 million in project financing — including a construction-to-term loan, bridge loan and letter of credit facility — the First Citizens Bank and Nord LB acted as coordinating lead arrangers while Investec and Siemens Financial Services acted as joint lead arrangers.
“This financing demonstrates that standalone storage is capable of supporting a regional grid’s energy planning in a rapidly transitioning landscape,” said Josh Goldstein, chief financial officer at Plus Power, in a statement.
The Cranberry Point facility is among the first few standalone batteries to clear the Forward Capacity Auction in 2021 with the ISO-NE. As part of this award, the Cranberry Point facility will provide capacity to the ISO-NE market through 2031.
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 that recognizes and remunerates batteries for their additional service to shift clean loads to replace polluting “peaking” generation.
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