US-based SMT Energy has secured $135m for the 160MW/320 megawatt hours (MWh) SMT Houston IV battery energy storage facility in Texas.
The project, which includes significant contributions from Macquarie Group and KeyBanc Capital Markets, marks a significant development in battery energy storage solutions.
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Macquarie and KeyBanc acted as joint lead arrangers for a $100m project financing facility, with KeyBanc also serving as the financial advisor to SMT Energy.
Macquarie’s commodities and global markets division provided a preferred equity investment and is tasked with selling the project’s investment tax credits, valued at $62m.
Macquarie commodities and global markets managing director Tom Colebatch stated: “We are pleased to work with SMT on this transaction, which demonstrates our ability to bring multiple capabilities together to provide clients with innovative solutions in this growing market.”
FlexGen Power Systems is supplying the equipment and its HybridOS energy management system software for the project, which will begin commercial operation in the second quarter of 2026.
The software enhances site integration, control and analytics to optimise battery energy storage asset performance.
The project will store and dispatch enough electricity to power the annual consumption of 8,800 homes in Texas, supporting the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid by providing access to stored energy.
SMT Energy began as a solar energy developer in 2019. The company has expanded to encompass more than 1.5GW of renewable energy projects across the US with a value of more than $1.5bn.
SMT Energy currently has 18 utility-scale battery energy storage assets, totalling 500MWh, in operation or under construction.
SMT Energy has a 2-gigawatt-hours pipeline of battery energy storage projects in ERCOT and the Southwest Power Pool, targeted for commercial operation by 2030.
