Ormat commences commercial operation of Shirk energy storage facility
Published by Jessica Casey,
Editor
Energy Global,
Ormat Technologies Inc., a leading geothermal and renewable energy company, has announced the commencement of commercial operations at the Shirk energy storage facility, an 80 MW/320 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) located in Visalia, California, the US.
The Shirk facility secures capacity under a 15-year resource adequacy purchase and sale agreement (RA Agreement) with the City of Riverside, supporting grid reliability and helping meet California’s growing demand for flexible energy resources.
The Shirk project qualifies for a 40% Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which the company plans to monetise the tax benefits as part of the hybrid tax equity partnership with Morgan Stanley Renewables, Inc. that Ormat announced in May 2025, which supports the funding and optimisation of the company’s growing energy storage portfolio.
Doron Blachar, CEO of Ormat Technologies, stated: “We are pleased to announce the commencement of operations at the Shirk energy storage facility, another important milestone in the continued growth of our energy storage platform. This project further demonstrates our ability to develop and deliver large scale storage assets that provide critical reliability services to the grid while supporting California’s clean energy transition.”
Blachar continued: “With long-term contracted revenues and the ability to monetise the project’s tax benefits through our previously announced hybrid tax equity partnership, Shirk strengthens the profitability and long-term visibility of our energy storage segment while advancing our strategy of building a diversified portfolio of contracted storage assets.”
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Read the article online at: https://www.energyglobal.com/energy-storage/13032026/ormat-commences-commercial-operation-of-shirk-energy-storage-facility/
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