Eolian, an energy infrastructure firm, announced the closing of a $463mn financing arranged by Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking to support the completion of the Padua Complex, a group of battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Bexar County, Texas. The financing covers Padua 2 and Padua 3, totalling 350 MW / 1.7 GWh, and adds to the 50 MW already in commercial operation from Padua 1.
Once completed in Spring 2026, the Padua Complex will offer 400 MW / 1.8 GWh of capacity. It is located near the retiring J.K. Spruce coal plant and the ageing V.H. Braunig gas plant, at a key transmission junction in the Texas grid. Eolian will operate all three phases through its internal asset and optimisation teams.
A direct response to new Texas legislation
The project responds to Governor Greg Abbott’s call for stronger grid reliability, which led to the adoption of new requirements for storage systems with more than four-hour duration. Padua 2 and 3 will deliver approximately five-hour discharges, becoming the longest-duration BESS projects to date in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) market.
Eolian stated the total investment for the Padua Complex exceeds $700mn and aims to maximise use of existing transmission lines until the planned 345 kV upgrades are completed in 2030. The location was identified as a future bottleneck by Eolian in 2018, and highlighted by ERCOT in 2023 as a priority for additional generation resources.
Tesla provides technology support at a key site
Storage equipment is supplied by Tesla, which noted that the Padua Complex is among its largest Megapack deployments globally. The site is designed to enhance grid efficiency and enable more flexible operations of other power generation assets, especially during peak demand or grid stress.
The financing package structured by Natixis CIB includes construction credit lines, term loans and letters of credit, ensuring uninterrupted project development towards scheduled operational launches in Winter and Spring 2026.
A model for large-scale grid integration
Eolian already operates a 300 MW BESS fleet within the ERCOT market. The Padua Complex continues this scale-up strategy, targeting flexible, grid-supporting infrastructure to meet growing electricity demand in Texas. It also seeks to extend the operational life of existing baseload plants through optimised integration.
According to stakeholders, the Padua Complex exemplifies an industrial-scale approach to energy storage, aligning with federal grid modernisation directives and meeting site-specific constraints identified by grid operators.
