Plus Power closes financing for a major standalone battery storage project in ISO – New England

Battery energy storage system developer, Plus Power announced the close of term financing and construction for the Cranberry Point Energy Storage facility – a major utility-scale standalone battery storage system on the New England grid.

The First Citizens Bank and Nord LB acted as coordinating lead arrangers while Investec and Siemens Financial Services acted as joint lead arrangers. The $133 million financing includes a construction-to-term loan, bridge loan, and letter of credit facility. Located in Carver, Massachusetts, the 150 MW/300 MWh Cranberry Point Energy Storage facility is expected to help stabilize the electric grid during events of extreme weather in the region while helping suppress volatile wholesale prices.

"Plus Power welcomes this critical support from First Citizens Bank, Nord LB, Investec, and Siemens Financial Services in accelerating standalone battery energy storage deployment into new markets," said Josh Goldstein, chief financial officer at Plus Power.

"This financing demonstrates that standalone storage is capable of supporting a regional grid's energy planning in a rapidly transitioning landscape."

Plus Power added that this facility is also among the first few standalone batteries ever to clear the Forward Capacity Auction in 2021 with the Independent System Operator (ISO) of New England, as part of this award the Cranberry Point facility will provide capacity to the ISO-NE market through 2031. In the 2021 auction, Plus Power's 175 MW/350 MWh Cross Town Energy Storage facility in Gorham, Maine, also won a capacity payment commitment from ISO-NE through 2031.

"The Cranberry Point facility is the second largest and represents approximately a third of the Commonwealth's goal to deploy 1,000 MWh of battery energy storage by 2025," Plus Power stated in a release.

The Cranberry Point Energy Storage facility and Cross Town Energy Storage facility are the largest battery energy storage projects in construction with planned operations in New England. The battery storage facilities are expected to come online in Summer 2025.

The announcement marks the first major financing of a utility-scale project that will benefit from Clean Peak Energy Certificates (CPECs), a relatively new and innovative incentive program unique to Massachusetts. The Clean Peak Program recognizes and remunerates batteries for their additional service to shift clean loads to replace polluting 'peaking' generation.