CMS Energy, Jupiter Ink Deal for 100MW Battery Storage

CMS Energy Corp.'s CMS subsidiary, Consumers Energy, has signed a deal to collaborate with Jupiter Power to build 100 Megawatts of battery energy storage projects in Michigan. This partnership agreement should put CMS a step toward duly achieving its net-zero carbon emission goal by 2040.

Benefits of the Agreement

In response to the United States' growing demand for clean electricity, utility providers such as CMS Energy are rapidly shifting their dependence from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources in order to reap the benefits of the growing utility-scale renewable energy market's financial, environmental, social and governance benefits. To this end, it is imperative to mention that as energy storage has emerged as a critical component of the clean energy market's expansion, utilities are targeting to expand their footprint in this space as well. The latest agreement seems to be one such initiative undertaken by CMS Energy.
Notably, CMS Energy aims to spend $3.4 billion in clean energy between 2024 and 2028, which includes the deployment of energy storage, apart from investments in renewable energy sources like solar, wind and hydroelectricity. Impressively, this amounts to 20% of the overall five-year capital expenditure plan made by the company.
This investment plan will help Consumers Energy build 75 MW of energy storage by 2027 in partnership with Jupiter Power in Coldwater as part of the latest agreement. This agreement will also advance CMS's capabilities toward deploying an additional 475 MW of energy storage by 2040.

Growth Prospects

The rapidly growing adoption of renewable energy sources worldwide, along with the declining cost of energy storage technologies, has been driving the demand for state-of-the-art energy storage solutions, which enable efficient energy management, grid stability and reliability, thereby ensuring a consistent power supply.
To this end, the Mordor Intelligence firm expects the global Battery Energy Storage market to witness a CAGR of 8.7% over 2024-2029. This offers solid growth opportunities to utility providers like CME Energy, which are significantly enhancing their footprints in this space.
The latest agreement with Jupiter Power is an example of CMS's efforts to gain notable traction in the battery energy storage market.
Apart from CMS, other prominent utility players, which are also expanding their footprint to reap the benefits of the expanding Battery
Storage Market, are mentioned below.
Duke Energy DUK: In April 2024, the company unveiled its PowerPair Program for installing home solar generation with battery energy storage in its service areas in North Carolina. This one-time incentive-based program offers up to $9,000 in incentives to consumers for installing solar plus battery energy storage systems. Moreover, DUK intends to put 2,700 MW of battery storage in operation by 2031.
DUK's long-term earnings growth rate is 6.1%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 sales implies a rise of 3.2% over the 2023 reported figure.
Alliant Energy LNT: In August 2023, the company received approval from the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin to construct utility-scale battery storage facilities located at two of its solar sites. The two projects, constituting 175 MW of storage, are expected to be completed by the fall of 2025.
Alliant Energy‘s long-term earnings growth rate is 6.1%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LNT's 2024 sales implies an improvement of 11% from the prior year's reported figure.
NextEra Energy NEE: The company's subsidiary, NextEra Energy Resources, added approximately 1,025 MW of storage to its backlog in the first quarter of 2024. In June 2024, NextEra Energy Resources and Entergy announced a joint development agreement that would accelerate the development of up to 4.5 gigawatts of solar generation and energy storage projects.
NEE's long-term earnings growth rate is 8.6%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company's 2024 sales implies an improvement of 1.6% from the prior-year reported figure.