Lydian Energy Secures $233 Million to Propel Battery Storage Expansion Across Texas
Lydian Energy, an independent power producer (IPP) known for its strategic focus on utility-scale solar and battery energy storage projects across North America, has achieved a significant milestone with the financial close of its first institutional project financing round. The company announced today that it has successfully secured a total of $233 million in capital to advance the development and construction of three major battery energy storage system (BESS) projects in the fast-evolving Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) market.
This critical funding round, structured through two of the most active lenders in the energy infrastructure space—ING and KeyBank—demonstrates growing institutional confidence in the role of battery storage within the broader energy transition. The financing will underpin the construction and deployment of three utility-scale battery projects strategically located in San Patricio County, Crane County, and Pecos County, all in Texas—one of the most dynamic and rapidly expanding power markets in the United States.
Financing Details and Project Specifications
The financing breakdown includes two separate funding streams provided by the two lead institutions:
- ING served as the exclusive lender for the Pintail and Crane battery projects, which are located in San Patricio County and Crane County, respectively. Each of these projects is designed with a 200 MW/400 MWh capacity, making them among the larger-scale storage systems being developed in the region. Combined, they represent an investment commitment of approximately $139 million.
- KeyBank, acting through its commercial and capital markets arms, has provided a $94 million financing package for the Headcamp project—a 150 MW/300 MWh BESS facility situated in Pecos County. In addition to its lending role, KeyBanc Capital Markets also served as the structuring agent for this deal, highlighting the firm’s growing influence in renewable energy financing.
These three projects are being developed under the umbrella of Excelsior Energy Capital’s Fund II, which recently closed with commitments exceeding $1 billion. The deployment of capital through this fund demonstrates Excelsior’s continuing support for reliable, sustainable energy infrastructure, particularly within high-growth U.S. markets where energy demand is surging and system complexity is rising.
All three battery projects are already under construction and are expected to be brought online and enter commercial operation by the fourth quarter of 2025.
Strategic Importance for Lydian Energy
The successful financial close not only represents a validation of Lydian Energy’s development model but also marks a pivotal moment in the company’s broader mission: delivering reliable, flexible, and affordable clean energy solutions to critical power markets.
“This financing marks an important step forward as we continue executing on our vision to scale transformative battery storage projects that meet the evolving energy needs of the communities we serve,” stated Emre Ersenkal, CEO of Lydian Energy. “We’re thrilled to partner with industry-leading financial institutions like ING and KeyBank, which recognize the long-term value of battery energy storage and the capabilities of our team.”
His sentiments were echoed by Basilio Guerrero, Lydian’s CFO, who emphasized the institutional support behind the deal. “We are proud to partner with these forward-looking banks to help deliver the next generation of clean and reliable power in Texas. This financing reflects both the strong fundamentals of our platform and the increasing demand for flexible grid assets like battery storage.”
Institutional Endorsement of Battery Storage
Both ING and KeyBank issued statements underscoring the strategic rationale behind their investment in Lydian’s projects. These perspectives not only confirm the growing maturity of battery storage as a critical component of the energy infrastructure landscape, but also reveal the financial community’s appetite for long-duration storage assets that address grid resiliency and intermittency challenges.
“ING’s support of Lydian’s portfolio reflects our broader commitment to backing transformative energy infrastructure that aligns with sustainability goals and the clean energy transition,” said Sven Wellock, Managing Director and Head of Energy – Renewables & Power at ING. “Battery storage is essential to grid reliability, and Lydian has demonstrated a clear pathway to deliver these assets at scale.”
From KeyBank’s perspective, the alignment was equally strong. Tyler Nielsen, Managing Director in the Utilities, Power and Renewables Group at KeyBanc Capital Markets, highlighted the broader significance of the Headcamp project: “This development represents exactly the kind of future-ready energy infrastructure our financing strategies are designed to support. As power markets grow more complex, we are proud to back developers like Lydian and sponsors like Excelsior that can deliver tangible solutions.”
Complementary Funding and Future Outlook
The debt financing provided by ING and KeyBank is being reinforced by co-investment capital from limited partners in Excelsior Energy Capital’s Fund II. This hybrid funding model allows for both institutional de-risking and sponsor-aligned incentives, enabling Lydian to deliver high-quality, bankable projects that satisfy both market demand and investor expectations.
Anne Marie Denman, Co-Founding Partner at Excelsior and Chair of the Board at Lydian Energy, emphasized that these financings reflect more than capital—they represent trust in infrastructure that delivers lasting value.
“These financings represent more than just dollars—they reflect a deeper, structural shift in how institutional capital is aligning itself with energy reliability and sustainability,” Denman said. “There’s strong demand for dependable energy infrastructure in fast-growing U.S. regions like Texas, and Lydian is exceptionally well-positioned to deliver. These projects show that even amid economic and regulatory uncertainty, capital flows toward infrastructure that addresses fundamental societal needs—chief among them, the need for sustainable, secure, and cost-effective domestic energy.”
Looking ahead, Lydian Energy is actively seeking additional financing to support its expanding development pipeline. Several additional projects are already in pre-construction phases and are expected to move forward later this year, leveraging the momentum created by this current round.
Expanding Portfolio and National Impact
Lydian’s development approach combines rigorous project selection, robust engineering, and deep market knowledge to deliver grid-scale energy solutions that are both profitable and impactful. The company’s current portfolio includes 20 solar and storage projects totaling 4.7 gigawatts (GW) of combined capacity, with a growing emphasis on battery storage as a central technology for grid flexibility and energy reliability.
As regulatory frameworks, technological capabilities, and investor interests converge around the need for cleaner and more resilient energy systems, Lydian Energy is poised to play a central role in shaping the power landscape across Texas and beyond.
The ERCOT market—covering about 90% of Texas’s electricity load—has emerged as a prime testing ground for grid innovation, particularly in the realm of renewable integration and dispatchable storage solutions. With energy demand surging due to industrial expansion, urban growth, and rising temperatures, the need for advanced energy storage systems has never been greater.
