Aliso Viejo-based esVolta LP has a new owner backing its efforts to prove that storing electricity in batteries and then putting it back into the grid when needed can be a major boon for the environment and energy use.
Investment firm Generate Capital of San Francisco said it acquired the large-scale battery storage developer to accelerate the availability of such energy storage projects.
Financial details were undisclosed at the time the acquisition was completed on July 13. The two companies initially filed plans for the deal in April, according to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission filings.
Grand Johanna Developer
The local company is a developer, owner, and operator of utility-scale energy storage projects across North America.
ÂLocal projects it has developed include “Grand Johanna,” a 2 megawatt/ 9 megawatt hour Lithium ion battery energy storage project located in Irvine that became operational in early 2017 and is used by Southern California Edison. It also has similar projects in Palm Springs and Thousand Oaks.
“Generate Capital believes that energy storage is essential in the battle against climate change as it helps deliver a lower-carbon and more resilient energy system,” esVolta President Randolph Mann told the Business Journal on Aug. 4.
Mann said “esVolta expects significant continued growth in demand for its projects.”
“Our team at esVolta is excited to be joining forces with Generate to expand the battery storage market amid increasing demand from off-takers and utilities throughout the United States,” Mann said.
Grids, Utilities
The Aliso Viejo company’s business involves developing energy storage projects, and then financing, constructing, building and operating them.
“We’re being paid for those services. We’re being paid for buying and selling electricity at a profit,” Mann previously told the Business Journal.
The projects are designed to provide grid operators, utilities and other energy users with important reliability services such as capacity, energy and renewables integration.
The U.S. electricity grid is experiencing a national transition away from fossil-fueled generation to a grid increasingly powered by a combination of renewables plus storage.
Mann said esVolta’s core business of developing large-scale energy storage addresses the energy transition and supports a multi-decade structural trend driven both by the cost competitiveness of renewables plus storage and, in some markets, by a desire for a lower carbon future.
“Our partnership with esVolta today highlights the enormous potential for battery storage projects to rebuild our energy system,” said Scott Jacobs, chief executive and co-founder of Generate Capital.
The current leadership of esVolta is expected to remain in place, according to Mann.
Generate Capital said in its acquisition announcement that esVolta has a “pipeline of attractive projects.”
The esVolta portfolio of operational plus contracted projects totals over 900 megawatt hours of storage capacity, and the firm is developing a large pipeline of future storage projects. It operates in the U.S. and Canada.
Macquarie Investment
Early last year, a unit of the huge Australian bank Macquarie invested $140 million in esVolta, via a senior secured credit facility. Macquarie’s stake in the company post-sale to General Capital hasn’t been disclosed.
Projects under active development by esVolta include spots in Texas, Arizona,
Montana, California, Virginia, Colorado, Washington and New Mexico.
Mann said last year that esVolta’s business included contracts with companies including Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric Co.
There are currently 28 employees at esVolta. It was advertising for seven open positions on its website as of early this month, including project development counsel and construction manager.