Crypto miner among clients of 880 MWh+ of Texan energy storage capacity

Battery maker SES AI Corp. will supply up to 100 MWh of its battery energy storage systems (BESS) to energy retailer Aispex, and Enfinity Global has revealed plans for 850 MWh of BESS capacity across two other Texan sites.
One of Enfinity's planned Texan BESS is in the Dallas zone of the ERCOT grid. | Image: TimUrban89/Pixabay

Plans are being drawn up for at least another 880 MWh of battery energy storage capacity in Texas. The fact artificial intelligence-driven data centers are driving a surge in electricity demand is reflected by an up-to-30 MWh crypto currency mining site being among planned facilities in the Lone Star state.

Announcing a supply deal with Texan energy retailer Aispex, Massachussetts-based lithium metal battery manufacturer SES AI Corp. revealed the first shipment would involve the supply of the up-to-$13 million BESS for a crypto miner.

SES said it would supply Aispex with up to 100 MWh of its BESS systems – including its proprietary AI for Safety Battery Management System – in a deal worth up to $45 million, under the terms of a recently signed memorandum of understanding.

Qichao Hu, chief executive of SES, said, “Energy storage, especially with fast growing crypto mining and data centers in the US, represents a total addressable market that is more than 10 times larger than EVs [electric vehicles]. We have only begun to tap this market and look forward to growing our presence in energy storage with Aispex and other industry-leading providers.”

Florida based renewables business Enfinity Global has announced it is planning to begin construction of two BESS in Texas in the second and fourth quarters of this year.

Enfinity said the two sites would have a combined scale of 425 MW/850 MWh and would be based in the Houston and Dallas zones of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid.

The independent power producer (IPP) stated AI-driven data centers are firing demand for energy storage to even out renewable energy generation across the ERCOT network.

Ricardo Díaz, CEO of Enfinity Global Americas, said, “Enfinity’s proven capabilities with in-house greenfield development has allowed us to expand into executing standalone BESS projects. This positions us to play a key role in strengthening and balancing ERCOT power grids and create value-accretive investment opportunities for Enfinity and our financial partners.”

Enfinity said the two new sites would takes its United States BESS development pipeline to 6.6 GW with the company planning to invest more than $7 billion into the sector, and create 5,000 construction jobs “in the next few years.”

The IPP said it has 400 MW of operational energy storage and solar sites in the United States, a further 19 GW under development, and is in negotiation for a further 37 GW. Enfinity expects to have more than 1 GW of energy storage and solar sites operating and under-construction in the United States this year, it said.

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