Vistra brings Texas’ largest battery energy storage system online

DeCordova Energy Storage Facility provides 260 MW of dispatchable, instant-start, emission-free power; expands company’s portfolio of zero-carbon generation facilities and reliability in ERCOT.

Vistra announced today that its DeCordova Energy Storage Facility located in Granbury in Texas is now online. This facility stores and releases electricity to the ERCOT grid, just in time for another Texas hot summer. The largest of its kind in Texas, the 260 MW/260MWh battery energy storage project.

DeCordova, which was first announced in Sept. 2020 is the second of seven zero-carbon projects Vistra plans to bring online in Texas in the next few years. This is part of the Vistra Zero portfolio. The company has invested nearly $1 billion in these new power generation facilities within the Texas ERCOT.

“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,” said Curt Morgan, CEO of Vistra. “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 Energy Storage Facility is made up of over 3,000 individual batteries. It can store enough electricity for approximately 130,000 Texas homes during normal grid conditions. The batteries can capture excess electricity from grid, primarily overnight during high-wind-output hours, and release it when customers demand it most.

DeCordova Energy Storage Facility utilizes lithium-ion technology housed in containers that, in addition to project inverters, were supplied by Sungrow, the project integrator. Mortenson provided engineering expertise and construction expertise. The project construction started in June 2021 and was completed in less that a year.

Vistra is also working to complete the 108-MW Emerald Grove Solar Facility (Crane County) ahead of summer. Together with its existing emission-free generation assets, including the most efficient nuclear plant in the country – Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant, these projects bring the company’s zero-carbon Vistra Zero portfolio to nearly 3,300 MW online, with plans to grow to more than 7,300 MW by 2026.

Click here to find out more about Vistra Zero.