Wärtsilä, Eolian commission 200 MW standalone energy storage projects in Texas

Wärtsilä has completed the construction of two major interconnected energy storage projects in South Texas, USA, that are connected to each other and owned by Eolian L.P. The Madero and Ignacio plants have a combined capacity of 200 MW, and Eolian's proprietary software will be used to operate them, ensuring full market participation in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) market. These additions to the system will provide the necessary power reliability all year round, and Wärtsilä was awarded the contract for this project in February 2021.

The systems’ multi-hour continuous dispatch ability offers the most extended duration of any energy storage assets operating in ERCOT. The projects are classed as being the first use of the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for standalone utility-scale energy storage systems. The ITC program was established through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022.

Construction of the projects commenced in January 2021. The storage facilities offer instantaneous response capacity to keep electricity output steady and ensure the supply of power when generating systems face failure or when they cannot respond rapidly to changing conditions.