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HARLINGEN — The city’s making way for a new battery storage plant off East Harrison Avenue near Loop 499, marking Harlingen’s fourth project aimed at shoring up the electric grid.
Aggreko Energy Transition Solutions, based in Scotland, is requesting city commissioners grant a special use permit to build a 9.9-megawatt plant on two acres, storing lithium-ion battery units, each 8 feet by 20 feet long, on the north side of East Harrison Avenue, about 485 feet east of Loop 499.
The plant would become the fourth commissioners have approved in the last two years, together capable of charging more than 50,000 homes, part of an evolving energy production industry aimed at backing up the grid.
During a 30-year period, the plant would generate $555,076 in property tax revenue, the company’s projections show.
In periods of peak demand, the plant would power nearly 700 homes, Christopher Rose, a company representative, told commissioners during a meeting.
“One thing this battery storage facility will do is, at high peak demand, it will be able to energize 681 homes,” he said during the Oct. 2 meeting. “When you mention land use, that’s a good reason to have this in an area like that. The infrastructure of the grid right now cannot withstand much growth. We want the city to grow. We want families to come here.”
The project, planned for development west of Cardenas Auto Group, has drawn no opposition, city documents show.
During a presentation, Rose told commissioners the company’s planning to remotely monitor the unmanned plant.
“This site will be monitored 24/7 remotely,” he told commissioners. “If anything were to happen, someone could be on site within four hours.”
The plant’s technology is based on “lithium energy storage,” the company’s documents show.
Documents show the company’s “advanced thermal management” is aimed at preventing “overheating and thermal runaway.”
The project’s battery units are “equipped with a comprehensive fire protection system designed to meet stringent safety standards,” including alarm systems, ventilation systems and aerosol fire extinguishing systems along with optional water spray systems, documents show.
Meanwhile, the site includes “accessible routes for emergency responders.”
During discussion, Commissioner Daniel Lopez wanted to know whether the company planned to keep the plant’s energy within the area.
“I would like to see how we can keep that energy local,” he told Rose. “My constituents have asked me and talked to me about this. They don’t want us to become a battery city. So I want to make sure that if we’re going to do this, it’s the best use of this land.”
In response, Rose said the company, which picked the project site to allow the plant to tap into a nearby AEP Texas substation, would present documents showing generated energy would remain in the area.
“With the substation within one mile, it’s not going to Dallas, it’s not going to go to Houston,” he said.
The company’s planning to lease a 6.8-acre tract along East Harrison Avenue, building the plant on two acres.
“Given it’s location within close proximity of our industrial park, I think the land use would be a good fit for this project,” Orlando Campos, the Harlingen Economic Development Corporation’s chief executive officer, told commissioners. “That property has been undeveloped for quite some time. It’s been for sale for quite some time.”
As part of the development, city officials are requesting the company build an eight-foot wall along the project site running along a stretch of East Harrison Avenue, with 10 feet of landscaping standing between the wall and property line.
In case of flooding, the company’s planning to build the plant on helical piles, making it “impervious,” a company representative said.
In the last two years, commissioners have approved three plants storing crystallized lithium-ion batteries, including a 100-megawatt battery storage plant on farm land off Loop 499 and two 10-megawatt plants off West Lincoln Avenue.
Late last year, the first of the 10-megawatt plants went into operation, Xavier Cervantes, the city’s planning director, said.
