AES Pushes Energy Storage to Top of Agenda as Demand Rises for Battery Projects

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Growing calls from lawmakers and the public for more renewable energy are giving rise to battery storage technology, which is crucial to making renewable resources competitive with longstanding fossil fuel development. To that end, AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) (Arlington, Virginia) (AES) teamed with Siemens AG (Munich, Germany) in 2018 to create Fluence Energy Incorporated, an energy storage technology company. Fluence filed regulatory paperwork on Tuesday for its initial U.S. public offering. Industrial Info is tracking more than $18.5 billion worth of active projects from AES, including more than $2.4 billion worth under construction.

Industrial Info also is tracking more than $1 billion worth of Fluence projects worldwide, about 47% of which is attributed to projects in the engineering or construction phase. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can click here for a list.

Once a standard bearer for coal-fired generation in the U.S., AES has shifted its portfolio toward renewable resources over the past decade. AES has a project pipeline totaling 37 gigawatts (GW), which one company official says is "among the largest in the world." More than 60% of the pipeline is based in the U.S., including 8 GW in California. AES is seeking permits for two battery energy-storage system (BESS) projects in the Golden State: a 291-megawatt (MW) unit at the Raceway 2.0 Solar Plant in Lancaster, and a 100-MW unit at the Baldy Mesa Solar Plant in Adelanto. Both projects are slated to begin construction in early 2023, if approved. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the Raceway 2.0 and Baldy Mesa projects.

"Last year was a record-breaking year of renewable contracts for us, with over 3 gigawatts [worth] signed," said Andres Gluski, the chief executive officer of AES, in a recent quarterly earnings-related conference call. "So far this year, we have already signed almost 3 gigawatts of contracts for wind, solar and energy storage--nearly double the amount at the same time last year. More than 90% of the new contracts are in the U.S., and we are well on our way toward achieving or exceeding our target of 4 gigawatts for 2021."

Click on the image at right for a heat map of active AES projects across the U.S., from Industrial Info's Geolocator tool.

AES Indiana, a subsidiary, is investing $1.5 billion over the next five years to modernize the Indiana power grid and transition the subsidiary to a more renewables-based generation mix. Earlier this year, AES Indiana announced an agreement to acquire the Petersburg Solar Farm project in Petersburg, Indiana, which is designed to generate as much as 430 MW via solar and battery energy storage. NextEra Energy Incorporated's (NYSE:NEE) (Juno Beach, Florida) is serving as project director. Subscribers can learn more from Industrial Info's project report.

AES Indiana expects to grow its rate base by more than 7% annually through 2025, while the AES Ohio subsidiary expect to nearly double the rate base by growing 12% in the same period. "The net combined volume in Ohio and Indiana is largely back to 2019 pre-COVID levels," said Gustavo Pimenta, the chief financial officer for AES, in the conference call. "This recovery is mainly driven by higher load from commercial and industrial customers this year, as a result of the reopening of local businesses."

AES Ohio is at work on an $18 million power line from West Milton to Troy, Ohio, which would run 16.6 miles and ensure adequate transmission-system voltages are maintained under various outage conditions. It is expected to wrap up in the summer of 2022. Subscribers can learn more from Industrial Info's project report.

In addition to the above-mentioned capital-spending projects, Industrial Info is tracking 10 maintenance-related projects involving AES across North America. Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project Database can click here for a list.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn.