French utility company Engie has agreed to purchase the battery storage business of Houston-based Broad Reach Power in a deal with an equity value of more than $1 billion, the companies announced Thursday.
Engie officials say they are targeting a 10 GW fleet of global battery storage assets by 2030. The acquisition of Broad Reach Power “is fully in line with Engie’s strategy,” CEO Catherine MacGregor said in a statement.
The deal includes 350 MW of operating grid-scale battery storage and 880 MW under construction, primarily in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. Another 1.7 GW of projects in varying stages of development are also included, and the first project located in the California Independent System Operator territory is expected to be operational later this year, the companies said.
Not included in the sale is Broad Reach Power’s 1.8 GW portfolio of solar and wind projects, nor its 4 GWh of battery storage located in the U.S. Mountain West region.
The deal is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter, subject to an anti-trust review and approval by energy regulators, Engie said. Broad Reach Power was founded in 2019 with support from EnCap Energy Transition. Its co-investment partners are Yorktown Partners, Mercuria Energy and Apollo Infrastructure Funds
“Together with EnCap and the Broad Reach Power management team, we’ve built what we believe is the leading and most innovative battery storage [independent power producer] in North America,” Apollo Infrastructure Partner Corinne Still said in a statement.
Engie has been expanding its clean energy fleet through acquisitions. In October, Engie North America bought a 6-GW portfolio of solar and battery storage projects under development in the PJM Interconnection, ERCOT and other markets.
The acquisition of Broad Reach Power will “contribute to the development of a low-carbon, affordable and resilient energy system where flexible assets will play a critical role alongside renewables,” MacGregor said.
