Key Capture Energy announced that it has partnered with Talen Energy Corporation to install a 20 megawatt (MW) battery storage project adjacent to Talen’s coal plant, with the potential to increase the battery project size in the future. The generation facility is among the coal-fired facilities that the company announced will cease burning coal by the end of 2025 as part of its transformation to a sustainable, environmental, social and governance (ESG)-focused future. Construction of the new battery facility is expected to start later this year with a targeted online date in 2022.
“We are extremely pleased with this partnership with Talen to develop and construct the first battery storage demonstration project adjacent to their generation facility.” He continued, “The US has more than 200,000 MW of coal-fired generation in operation today; with the market and political forces impacting these generators, and increasing amounts of intermittent wind and solar being constructed across the country, there will continue to be a need for capacity that has historically been provided to the US electric grid by coal, natural gas, hydro and nuclear.”
As part of its strategic transformation to renewable energy and digital infrastructure growth platform, the company is developing one gigawatt of stand-alone battery storage projects across its US footprint. The battery projects, which range from 20 to approximately 300 megawatts across three states, are expected to be developed over the next three to five years utilising land and legacy fossil generation and transmission infrastructure owned by the company. In addition to generating value, and advancing the businesses transformation, these projects serve as another tangible expression of the ESG strategy, providing new opportunities for employees and communities as fossil plants transition to run on cleaner fuels.
“Our partnership is instrumental to helping Talen advance our clean energy transition and continue to contribute to grid stability and resiliency, which is key for those within Baltimore’s BGE transmission zone,” Alex Hernandez, president of Talen, said. “We believe that this initial project will provide a model that can be replicated throughout our national footprint. We look forward to working with KCE as we continue to convert legacy fossil plants and shift to the batteries of tomorrow.”
