Powin scores financing from Brookfield for 8.8 MW storage project

The construction-to-term project financing will help Powin Energy complete the energy storage system in Stratford, Ontario, by the end of this year. Upon completion, the Oregon-based company claims the system will be the biggest contracted energy storage project in Canada. Mississauga-based construction firm EllisDon started building the project in July, while work began on the lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery array at the end of August.

“Securing non-resource financing is a critical step for energy storage assets themselves as well as the broader market,” said Geoffrey Brown, President of Powin Energy.

The Ontario Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) has contracted the system as part of its efforts to offer critical ancillary services such as voltage control and reactive support to the grid. The storage array will include 300 Powin Energy Stack140 systems housed in a purpose-built warehouse, all of which will be connected to inverters from Dublin-based Eaton and California’s EPC Power.

Powin Energy will have completed more than 50 MWh of utility-scale battery storage capacity by the end of this year. Its total contracted backlog currently stands at roughly 70 MWh.

In June, the company revealed plans to work with Hecate Energy on 12.8 MW/52.8 MWh of storage at sites in Kitchener and Stratford, Ontario. In August, it signed a deal to build 26 MWh of energy storage capacity for San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E). It also revealed a plan to pair 2.4 MWh of energy storage with solar for Adon Renewables at seven sites in Hawaii. And in September, Powin Energy agreed to build a 2 MW/8 MWh energy storage system for Southern California Edison in Irvine, California.