Ørsted’s 250 MW battery storage project in Texas reaches commercial operations, joins ERCOT grid

Ørsted has announced that its Old 300 Storage project—a 250 MW/500 MWh battery energy storage system in Needville, Texas, roughly 42 miles southwest of Houston—has reached commercial operations and is now fully integrated into the ERCOT grid. The milestone adds to Ørsted’s 6 GW portfolio of operating U.S. onshore energy projects and marks another step in the company’s expansion into utility-scale battery storage.

Old 300 Storage reaches commercial operations in Needville, Texas

Needville, Texas, isn’t a name that usually makes energy headlines. But with Old 300 Storage now online, this small Fort Bend County community is home to one of the more significant battery storage projects to come online in the U.S. recently.

The 250 MW/500 MWh system is fully integrated into ERCOT—the grid that serves most of Texas. For Ørsted, it’s a solid addition to a U.S. onshore portfolio now totaling 6 GW of operating capacity. The company has been pushing steadily into battery energy storage, and Old 300 Storage is a concrete move in that direction.

Old 300 Storage is a 250 MW/500 MWh battery energy storage system now fully operational and integrated into the ERCOT grid in Needville, Texas.

Why Ørsted built a battery storage system in Texas

Texas has a grid reliability problem. ERCOT has dealt with recurring periods of tight supply and demand margins, and those stress points haven’t gone away. Electricity demand keeps climbing—driven by population growth, industrial expansion, and rising temperatures—making the need for flexible, dispatchable resources harder to ignore by the month.

Battery storage addresses that gap in a specific way. Unlike generation sources that run continuously, a BESS can hold energy and release it right when demand spikes—which makes it especially useful during peak hours when the grid is most strained.

Melissa Peterson, president of Ørsted Americas Onshore, put it directly: “Battery energy storage has played a large role in providing much-needed power to ERCOT in times of tight supply and demand margins.” Old 300 Storage, she said, will have “tangible benefits” for grid reliability and energy diversity as demand keeps growing. For Ørsted, the project also fits a broader strategic push to build out its U.S. battery storage presence at real scale.

Expected effects on grid reliability and local communities

The most immediate effect is operational. Old 300 Storage gives Texas grid operators an additional resource to call on — one that responds fast when demand peaks and supply gets tight. That kind of flexibility matters in a grid environment where conservation alerts have become a recurring summer concern.

Beyond grid stability, there’s a local economic angle that’s hard to overlook. Combined with the co-located Old 300 Solar project, the two facilities are projected to contribute around $110 million in property tax revenue over time—money that flows to Fort Bend County, supporting local infrastructure, schools, and emergency services.

That’s a meaningful number for a community the size of Needville. Large-scale energy projects often stir debate about local impact, but the tax revenue picture here is pretty clear-cut. Peterson framed the broader significance this way: both projects, she said, are “examples of multi-technology solutions helping to meet the challenge of rising energy demand, ensuring a stable and reliable grid.”

Project details: Tesla Megapacks, co-location with solar, and safety protocols

Old 300 Storage runs on Tesla Megapacks—utility-scale battery units manufactured at Tesla’s Megafactory in Lathrop, California, the largest industrial energy storage manufacturing plant in the United States. Ørsted cited its commitment to supporting American companies as part of the rationale for choosing Tesla as the supplier.

The Megapacks have a broad track record, deployed across Texas, throughout the U.S., and in over 65 countries worldwide. They’re designed specifically for utility-scale applications and built to meet stringent global safety codes.

Old 300 Storage is co-located with the 430 MW Old 300 Solar project, which has been generating power for roughly 80,000 Texas homes and businesses since 2024—one of the largest solar projects to come online in the U.S. that year. The two systems share a site but operate independently. The storage project isn’t simply storing excess solar output; it functions as a standalone grid resource.

On the safety side, Ørsted and Tesla worked proactively with the Needville Fire Department before the project went live. That collaboration focused on education about the battery technology and on developing emergency response protocols. It’s a practical step that reflects how recent the scale-up of utility battery storage really is—local first responders don’t always have prior experience with large BESS facilities, and getting them prepared before operations begin just makes sense.

$110 million in property tax revenue for Fort Bend County

Old 300 Storage is a 250 MW/500 MWh battery energy storage system now fully operational and integrated into the ERCOT grid in Needville, Texas. It uses Tesla Megapacks manufactured in California and operates independently from the co-located 430 MW Old 300 Solar project. Together, the two projects are expected to generate around $110 million in property tax revenue for Fort Bend County. The storage project adds to Ørsted’s 6 GW U.S. onshore portfolio and reflects the company’s expanding focus on utility-scale battery storage as Texas—and the broader U.S. grid—faces rising electricity demand and ongoing reliability challenges.

Kelly Lippke

Kelly is an experienced writer with 15 years of experience exploring the big stories that shape our world, from tech breakthroughs and space exploration to climate, energy, and the fascinating quirks of science. She has a talent for turning complex ideas into sharp, memorable insights that stay with readers long after they’ve finished reading.