U.S.: Aypa secures financing for 1 GWh Arizona battery, Averon activates 600 MWh Tesla battery

The US states of California and Arizona are on course for 2.2 GWh more BESS capacity.

Blackstone-owned Canadian energy storage and renewables developer Aypa Power has announced it has secured a $398 million finance package for its planned 250 MW/1 GWh Pediment BESS, in Mesa, Arizona.

That news came days after Arizona-based developer Arevon Energy Inc. announced the start of operations at the first phase of its eventual 758 MWdc solar and 300 MW/1.2 GWh BESS Eland solar-plus-storage site in the city of Mojave, California.

The Aypa project has secured a 20-year offtake agreement for the BESS capacity with utility Salt River Project, which supplies electricity to the city of Phoenix.

The battery is expected to begin operation in 2026, Aypa said in a press release, and will help meet electricity demand in a state which is aiming to double its energy capacity by 2035 to feed a growing data center industry.

Financing was led by Société Générale; ING Capital LLC, which also served as green loan coordinator; and Bank of America as coordinating lead arrangers. Zions Bancorporation, which served as administrative agent; Royal Bank of Canada; and Desjardins Group acted as joint lead arrangers at financial close.

California

Arevon has activated the first of two stages of its Eland site, in Kern County, which will provide electricity to Southern California Public Power Authority businesses the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Glendale Water and Power.

The developer said the power would be supplied under a “long term” power purchase agreement.

The Eland 1 first phase has 384 MWdc of solar in operation alongside 150 MW/600 MWh of energy storage capacity. Phase two of the eventual $2 billion-plus site is under construction and expected to be operational before April 2025.

Arevon made no mention of Tesla in its press release but the electric car company’s clean energy division posted images of the Eland 1 site on its LinkedIn social media account, indicating its Megapack product was the battery deployed.

Tesla’s post stated, “This is the first project deployed with Tesla’s new site-level controls that seamlessly regulate power output to buffer the intermittency of solar [energy] and provide a firm resource to the grid. The hybrid configuration allows more solar power to be installed at the site than the interconnection nameplate, while also avoiding costly solar curtailment.”

Solv Energy carried out engineering, procurement, and construction services at the Eland 1 site, which Arevon said had provided 325 construction jobs at a development which will disburse more than $18 million to local authorities over its project lifespan.