“California’s expansive push towards a carbon free grid, largely through wind and solar generation, makes energy storage a critical component of the grid’s infrastructure. Cascade marks the first of several projects that will allow Broad Reach to help California operate the grid safely and reliably as more renewable generating sources come online,” said Broad Reach Power Vice President of Corporate Development Justin Amirault. “We are excited to be early adopters to help California achieve its important objectives and pleased to have worked closely with an experienced developer like Enel.”
Cascade had been developed by Enel and was selected by PG&E to provide resource adequacy under a 20-year agreement signed in 2017. Broad Reach expects to continue the development and begin construction next year to bring the project online in 2022. The Cascade Energy Storage Project joins Broad Reach Power’s rapidly growing portfolio of battery assets in Texas, where Broad Reach is the leading owner of standalone storage projects in the ERCOT interconnection queue, and across the western United States where the company has more than 700 MW of projects with signed interconnection agreements.
“Similar to our Texas effort, we have built a significant project portfolio in the California ISO over the last year through greenfield development and M&A, and we are pleased to announce the Cascade acquisition to the market,” added Broad Reach Power’s Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer Steve Vavrik, whose company is backed by leading energy investors EnCap Investments, Yorktown Partners and Mercuria Energy.
“In California and other regions of the west where there is similar renewable penetration and increasing power demand, we are on a mission to develop and acquire storage assets in any stage of the development scale.”
“EnCap is bullish on the expanding need for batteries in the power markets and enthusiastic about the growth and performance of Broad Reach Power,” said EnCap Energy Transition Managing Partner Shawn Cumberland. “The EnCap Energy Transition Fund is currently behind approximately 800MW of energy storage projects. We know of no other financial player that has committed as much equity to U.S. battery projects either in operation or under active construction.”
