EnCap Investments L.P. (EnCap) today announced that BlackRock Alternatives (BlackRock), through a fund managed by its Diversified Infrastructure business, has agreed to acquire Jupiter Power LLC (Jupiter), a leading U.S. operator and developer of stand-alone, utility-scale battery energy storage systems.
EnCap Energy Transition Fund I (EETF I) and co-investment partners Yorktown Partners and Mercuria Energy are selling Jupiter, and the transaction is expected to close in late 2022, subject to customary closing conditions.
Since its founding in 2017, Jupiter has focused on proprietary data-driven approaches to large scale, stand-alone energy storage projects designed to meet the growing need for grid support and renewables integration driven by the energy transition. Jupiter’s team includes 70 professionals with more than 25,000 megawatts (MW) of prior power generation project experience globally, including some of the first utility-scale energy storage projects built in the U.S. With that expertise, Jupiter has assembled one of the earliest and most geographically diversified storage development pipelines in the country, totaling over 11,000 MW from California to Maine. The company owns and operates a large storage fleet in Texas comprising 655-megawatt hours (MWh), and currently has 340 MWh of new projects in or near construction, including its first project in California. Earlier in 2022 Jupiter closed a ground-breaking stand-alone storage portfolio debt financing of its operating portfolio and announced a collaboration to secure 2,400 MWh of domestic-content-qualified battery energy storage systems for its 2024-2025 projects.
“Acquisition of Jupiter’s uniquely capable energy storage platform by BlackRock’s Diversified Infrastructure business is another sign that energy storage is maturing into an important new player in the electricity business with a critical role to play,” said Jupiter Power CEO Andy Bowman. “Our team has special insight into the many useful things storage can do because of our deep prior experience with renewable energy projects, and we are proud to help lead the way now to the next generation of utility scale energy storage systems.”
“Jupiter is a pioneer in the utility scale battery energy storage industry in the U.S. We are proud to have been their capital provider and partner as they grew the platform and facilitated the integration of renewables onto the U.S. power grid,” said EnCap Energy Transition Managing Partner Kellie Metcalf, who is also chairwoman of the Jupiter board of directors. “We are excited about the company’s outlook for future success.”
EnCap was an early investor in Jupiter and has been an aggressive provider of capital in the fast-growing U.S. energy storage business since it began pursuing opportunities created by the global transition to a lower-carbon energy system. With EnCap’s financial support and strategic expertise, Jupiter leveraged its early mover development positions, supplier relationships and proprietary dispatch applications to successfully execute its innovative portfolio. This allowed Jupiter to become a leader in bridging the gap between intermittent generation supply and real-time consumer demand for power.
The acquisition of Jupiter by BlackRock’s Diversified Infrastructure business, part of BlackRock Alternatives, is the second exit transaction by EnCap’s $1.2 billion EETF I. In addition to Jupiter, EETF I has backed leading energy transition companies, including Catalyze Energy (distributed commercial and industrial solar plus batteries), Solar Proponent (large scale solar), Triple Oak Power (utility scale wind power) and Arbor Renewable Gas (clean fuels), among others.
White and Case, LLP served as legal advisor and Lazard as financial advisor to the seller, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett as BlackRock’s legal advisor.
