Ørsted Becomes an Active Player in the Energy Storage Market
Ørsted Announces Strategic Partnership with Mission Clean Energy for BESS Development in the Midwest. Ørsted, a global clean energy company, has announced a strategic partnership with Mission Clean Energy, a utility-scale renewable energy and storage developer, to develop four standalone Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) in the Midwest.
Who is Ørsted?
Ørsted is a global leader in clean energy, specializing in the development, construction, and operation of offshore and onshore wind farms, solar farms, bioenergy plants, and power-to-x installations. Recognized as the world’s most sustainable energy company in the Corporate Knights Global 100 Index, Ørsted employs around 700 people in the United States. It operates America’s first offshore wind farm near Block Island and is expanding its U.S. portfolio with an additional 3 GW of investments.
The company is known for pioneering new offshore wind technologies, such as bubble curtains and acoustic screens during monopile installations. Recently, Ørsted successfully tested spray-based foundation installation methods that reduced underwater noise levels by up to 34 decibels compared to traditional approaches.
Ørsted also operates in Poland, where it recently announced its support for creating a new postgraduate program in “Occupational Safety and Health in the Offshore Sector” at the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin.
Groundbreaking Partnership with Mission Clean Energy
The partnership with Mission Clean Energy complements Ørsted’s ongoing development efforts while broadening and diversifying its technological offerings for utilities and other customers.
Ørsted’s Chief Commercial Officer, James Giamarino, remarked:
“Further investing in and building storage solutions is crucial to ensuring a resilient and reliable grid, and the partnership with Mission supports this important goal.”
Ørsted will leverage its capital to secure interconnection queue positions for Mission’s four storage projects while its business partner will continue leading the project development. The companies have submitted interconnection requests for projects with a total capacity of 1 GW within the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) Central and North regions. Ørsted will have the option to acquire ownership stakes in the projects as they progress.
Strategic Projects to Meet Grid Challenges
The four projects are strategically positioned to address transmission capacity needs and manage increasing grid variability. This initiative marks Ørsted’s first standalone battery storage partnership both in the U.S. and globally.
This does not signify Ørsted’s first foray into battery storage. The company already has plans for a storage system (300 MW/600 MWh) at its Hornsea 3 wind farm and a 300 MW/1200 MWh project at Eleven Mile Solar Center in Arizona.
Source: Ørsted