Avantus completes sale of 200-MW Big Rock 1

Renewables solutions company Avantus announced the sale of the Big Rock 1 energy storage project to Gore Street Energy Storage Fund, a London-based publicly traded fund managed by Gore Street Capital.

The storage project with a 200-MW capacity will commence construction in the second half of this year in Imperial County, California, and be operational by the end of 2024. It will be one of the largest energy storage projects in the region and provide firm and reliable power coupled with plans to deliver resource adequacy and ancillary services to the CAISO market.

Enabled by its high-end technology, innovation and the relentless pursuit of better, Avantus is committed to building and operating networks of smart modern power plants with superior merits of higher efficiency, reliability and resiliency.

"Powering our future requires solutions like Big Rock 1 that are clean, low-cost, responsive and reliable any time of day or night," said Dr. Tom Buttgenbach, Founder and CEO of Avantus.

"Now that we have the technology and economics in place to really unleash the potential of energy storage, we need to get to work deploying it in California and other places with vast amounts of existing renewable resources and help bolster grid stability for millions of people," added Dr. Tom Buttgenbach.

Big Rock 1 continues Avantus' longstanding partnership with Imperial Country, where the company developed the 800-MW Mount Signal solar cluster plant that remains one of the largest operating solar projects in the U.S. to date.

"This acquisition is an important milestone in increasing the size and diversification of our international portfolio. In acquiring Big Rock 1, we are delighted to enter the CAISO grid, supporting California's massive renewable energy market and broadening our presence in the U.S.," said Dr. Alex O'Cinneide, CEO of Gore Street Capital.

The project is expected to create 90 construction jobs and provide tens of millions in local tax revenue and other contributions to benefit Imperial County communities.