Manulife Investment Management has made a new $250m (€228.89m) commitment to US energy storage and generation company Hunt Energy Network, separate from its March 2021 partnership investment.
Manulife, investing via Manulife Infrastructure Fund III and its affiliates, has provided the capital to help Dallas-based Hunt Energy develop and operate dispatchable power resources in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).
Manulife’s latest commitment is entirely separate from its $225m commitment in March 2021 to establish the HEN Infrastructure joint venture with Hunt Energy Network aimed at developing and operating a portfolio of distribution-level energy storage assets in ERCOT.
HEN Infrastructure has so far developed 270MW of operational energy storage in ERCOT, with an additional 80MW under development, expected to be completed by early 2025.
Recep Kendircioglu, the global head of infrastructure at Manulife Investment Management, said: ”We recognise the importance that dispatchable generation brings to the electricity customers of Texas by providing reliable power when needed most.
“Continuing our long-standing partnership with Hunt Energy will support the grid and allows us to drive innovation with a market leader in ERCOT.”
Pat Wood, CEO of Hunt Energy Network, said: “Over the past three years, our partnership with Manulife let us build a resilient network of dispatchable, distributed storage all across Texas.
“Now, we can continue that work as well as move into other opportunities to reliably serve customers in ERCOT.”
Hunter Hunt, the CEO of Hunt Energy Network’s parent, Hunt Energy LLC, said: “Hunt Energy Network is building Texas’s first network of distributed resources, which will include batteries, peaking power, and customer onsite generation to help Texas meet its explosive demand growth.
“Our goal is to provide the resiliency ERCOT needs to keep supplying affordable, clean, and reliable power to Texans.”
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