Generate Capital has entered the grid-scale, front-of-meter battery storage market with the acquisition of California-based developer esVolta LP.
Founded in 2017, esVolta has a portfolio of more than 900 MWh of operational and utility-contracted projects in the U.S. and Canada, according to a press release.
The company also has a portfolio of projects under active development in Texas, Arizona, Montana, California, Virginia, Colorado, Washington, and New Mexico.
“Our partnership with esVolta today highlights the enormous potential for battery storage projects to rebuild our energy system," said Generate CEO and co-founder Scott Jacobs. "We’re excited to work with this innovative and expert team to expand our collective leadership in storage and resiliency markets nationwide.”
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esVolta's largest project developed to date was the 75 MW/300 MWh Hummingbird Energy Storage facility in San Jose, California. Pacific Gas and Electric Company selected esVolta to build the lithium-ion battery storage facility in 2018 as part of a plan to replace retiring natural gas power generation.
The company boasts a 10 GWh project pipeline in North America at the time of the acquisition.
Concerns about a looming recession, inflation, and rising interest rates haven't slowed down Generate, which invests in capital-intensive sustainable infrastructure.
In addition to the esVolta deal, Generate provided $200 million in growth equity and $300 million in available project financing to utility-scale solar and storage developer Pine Gate Renewables last month.
San Francisco-based Generate was founded in 2014 by McKinsey alum Jacobs and Jigar Shah, who now leads the Energy Department's Loan Programs Office. Matan Friedman, who also worked at McKinsey, was a third co-founder. Generate builds, owns, operates and finances energy, transportation, water, waste, and digital infrastructure. It has partnered with around 50 technology and project developers and owns and operates some 2,000 assets globally.
