Apex Clean Energy, SK Gas and SK D&D have formed a joint venture (JV), SA Grid Solutions, to own energy storage facilities in the U.S., the companies announced in a Jan. 17 press release.

SA Grid Solutions is funded 60% by SK and 40% by Apex. The JV owns Great Kiskadee Storage, a utility-scale battery project under construction in Hidalgo, Texas. Apex will manage the construction and operations of the facility, and any future ones.

“Great Kiskadee represents the first project in this shared vision, with the potential for hundreds more megawatts of energy storage to come,” Ken Young, Apex Clean Energy CEO, said in the press release. “Our collaboration with SK Gas and SK D&D, a first-time partner with shared values, will enable Apex to swiftly accelerate the deployment of our development-stage storage portfolio, comprising more than 13 [gigawatts] across the United States.”

Great Kiskadee is expected to begin commercial operations in 2024 and will generate more than $12.6 million in tax revenue over its lifetime. The project will deliver 100 megawatt/200 megawatt-hours of capacity to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid with a two-hour battery duration. Other projects purchased by the JV will have comparable size and duration.

“We will continue to create new opportunities such as ESS [energy storage system]-based power transactions in the U.S. market and contribute to preoccupying the domestic ESS market, strengthening the competitiveness of the power brokerage business,” said Do Hyun Kim, CEO of SK D&D, in the announcement.

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