Texas adds largest battery energy storage system with Vistra’s 260 MW DeCordova Energy Storage Facility

Published on May 25, 2022 by Chris Galford


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© Vistra

Vistra announced this week that it has put the finishing touches on the new 260 MW DeCordova Energy Storage Facility in Granbury, Texas, bringing online the largest energy storage project to date for the ERCOT grid heading into the traditionally blistering Texas summers.

DeCordova was first announced in September 2020. It is the second of seven zero-carbon projects Vistra intends to deploy in the coming years as part of a nearly $1 billion capital investment portfolio into Texas power generation facilities. Capable of providing 260 MW-hours of capacity, or enough to supply power to 130,000 average homes, the new facility consists of more than 3,000 individual battery modules.

“As our fleet and electric grids across the country transition to cleaner generation, we haven’t lost sight of our essential role in providing reliable, affordable electricity. The battery storage technology at DeCordova accomplishes those objectives – providing instantaneous-start, dispatchable generation to help balance the intermittency of renewable energy as the electric grid transitions to low-to-zero-carbon resources,” Vistra CEO Curt Morgan said. “No doubt, a project of this size and an overall investment this ambitious solidifies Vistra’s position as a market leader in investing in, owning, and operating emission-free power generation in Texas and beyond while balancing affordability and reliability.”

DeCordova uses lithium-ion technology housed in containers, coupled with project inverters. These were provided by project integrator Sungrow, while engineering and construction – which began in June 2021 – were handled by Mortenson. With its completion, the facility joins the 50 MW Brightside Solar Facility brought online earlier this year.

“DeCordova offers a unique value proposition – not only can this battery system provide instantaneous full power to the grid with the flip of a switch, but it is also co-located on the same site as our quick-start DeCordova natural gas-fueled power plant,” Vistra President and CEO Jim Burke said. “This pairing means we essentially have a large, one-hour battery system with dispatchable, reliable generation, leading to continuity of operation and resiliency of the grid. In addition, these gas-fueled generation units have seven days of diesel backup in the event of any disruption of natural gas supplies, which is yet another example of the resiliency aspect of the Decordova site.”

Vistra intends to finish work on another production site before this summer, the 108 MW Emerald Grove Solar Facility. That facility will be located in Crane County, Texas.