Geothermal and battery storage firm Ormat Technologies’ 80MW/320MWh Shirk battery energy storage system (BESS) in Visalia, California, US, has reached commercial operation.
At the time, Riverside’s first RA contract required Ormat to bring the project into operation by the guaranteed commercial operation date (COD) of 1 March 2026, although the company expected to do so earlier, by the end of 2025. Ormat announced COD on 12 March.
According to Ormat, the Shirk project is eligible for a 40% investment tax credit (ITC). The Company intends to monetise these tax benefits through a hybrid tax equity partnership with Morgan Stanley Renewables, announced in May 2025, which aids in funding and optimising the company’s expanding energy storage portfolio.
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Ormat noted when it signed the tax equity partnership that the transaction would cover the 60MW/120MWh Lower Rio project, located in Texas, and the 35MW/140MWh storage, 42MW solar PV Arrowleaf project, located in California.
Ormat has tolling agreements for Lower Rio and its 660MW/120MWh Bird Dog BESS, the projects were Ormat’s first tolling deals in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) market, and Ormat claims the deals allowed it to proceed with construction of the 100MW/200MWh Louisa BESS project.
In October 2024, Ormat put its 80MW/320MWh Bottleneck project into operation in California’s Central Valley. The company announced it would also leverage the ITC for that project.
In 2020, Ormat diversified beyond geothermal energy by establishing its energy storage division. The company announced its goal to become a leading player in the US storage sector, aiming for a growth of approximately 468% to 502% in megawatts by 2025.
Recently, the company co-led a US$97 million Series B funding round with investment firm Carbon Direct Capital for geothermal company Sage Geosystems, to advance its first commercial geothermal power generation facility.
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Held alongside The Battery Show Europe, Energy Storage Summit provides a focused platform to understand the policies, revenue models and deployment conditions shaping Germany’s utility-scale storage boom. With contributions from TSOs, banks, developers and optimisers, the Summit explores regulation, merchant strategies, financing, grid tariffs and project delivery in a market forecast to integrate 24GW of storage by 2037.
You can expect to meet and network with all the key industry players again in 2025 from major US asset owners, operators, RTOs and ISOs, optimizers, software and analytics providers, technical consultancies, O&M technology providers and more.
Launching September 2026 in Berlin, Energy Storage Summit Germany is a new standalone event dedicated to Germany’s energy storage market. Bringing together investors, developers, policymakers, TSOs, manufacturers and optimisation specialists, the Summit explores the regulatory shifts, revenue models, financing strategies and technology innovations shaping large-scale deployment. With Germany targeting 80% renewables by 2030, it offers a focused platform to connect with the decision-makers driving the Energiewende and the future of utility-scale storage.
The Energy Storage Summit Central Eastern Europe is set to return in September 2025 for its third edition, focusing on regional markets and the unique opportunities they present. This event will bring together key stakeholders from across the region to explore the latest trends in energy storage, with a focus on the increasing integration of energy storage into regional grids, evolving government policies, and the growing need for energy security.
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