Lydian Energy has announced that its Faraday battery energy storage system, located in Utah County, Utah, has reached commercial operation.

The 150 MW/600 MWh project began operating and delivers contracted storage capacity to PacifiCorp under a Schedule 34 contract in support of Meta's Eagle Mountain data center operations. Lydian is a developer, owner, and operator of energy infrastructure projects backed by Excelsior Energy Capital.

The Faraday BESS commissioning represents the latest step in the company's buildout of utility-scale power assets across North America, and it arrives alongside plans for a much larger expansion at the same Utah site.

A Standalone Storage System Built Around Existing Infrastructure

Faraday BESS is a standalone, four-hour lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery system. It provides 600 MWh of contracted storage capacity to PacifiCorp under a long-term energy storage agreement, supporting grid reliability in Utah.

The project occupies an approximately eight-acre site adjacent to the 525 MW Faraday solar facility.

Because it shares that facility's substation and interconnection, Lydian was able to add storage to the grid by leveraging infrastructure that was already in place, rather than building new interconnection capacity from scratch. Lydian moved the project from mobilization to commercial operation in approximately 10 months. Over the course of the project life, Faraday BESS is expected to pay approximately USD 9 million in property tax.

Tight Timeline and a Summer Wildfire Test

Reaching commercial operation on that schedule required coordination across multiple parties, according to Kim Smith, Chief Operating Officer of Lydian.

"Bringing it online on an extremely tight timeline took close coordination across our own team and our supply chain, construction, and financing partners, from acquisition through commissioning," Smith said.

The construction window also coincided with a wildfire that threatened the area in June. Smith noted that the team prioritized safety during that event while still keeping the project on track toward commissioning. Smith added that Faraday BESS enhances PacifiCorp's reliable, contracted capacity for Utah customers, and said the project demonstrates what a mature platform can deliver.

Meta's Clean Energy Procurement Behind the Contract

The storage system is contracted in support of Meta's Eagle Mountain data center operations, tying the Utah project to the technology company's procurement of new energy resources.

Amanda Yang, Director of Clean and Renewable Energy at Meta, described storage as central to grid performance. "Storage is an essential part of a resilient grid. It gives utilities the flexibility to respond when conditions change, from extreme weather to unexpected outage," Yang said.

"Our investments in new energy resources are helping projects like Faraday BESS reach the grid, and that's a role we want to keep playing as we support our Eagle Mountain Data Center."

The Backer's View From Excelsior Energy Capital

Excelsior Energy Capital, Lydian's financial backer, framed the commissioning as validation of the team behind it. Chris Moakley, Managing Partner at Excelsior Energy Capital and Chair of the Board of Lydian Energy, said the firm invested in Lydian because it recognized that a disciplined, execution-driven team could build a leading energy infrastructure platform.

"As demand for reliable, domestically produced power continues to grow, storage projects like Faraday BESS will play a larger role in keeping the grid dependable," Moakley said.

Excelsior, founded in 2017 and based in Excelsior, Minnesota, is a private fund investment manager focused on investing in the transformation of North America's energy infrastructure. The firm closed its flagship fund, Excelsior Renewable Energy Investment Fund I, at USD 504 million in 2020, and closed its second fund, Excelsior Renewable Energy Investment Fund II, at just over USD 1 billion in 2025.

Faraday BESS 2 and the Road to 2028

The completion of Faraday BESS draws on Lydian's integrated platform, which spans development, capital markets, and project delivery.

The company is already developing a second phase at the Utah site: Faraday BESS 2 would add up to 375 MW/1,500 MWh of storage, with a targeted in-service date of the fourth quarter of 2028.

If completed, Faraday BESS 2 would more than double the storage capacity at the site, building on the same adjacency to the 525 MW Faraday solar facility that allowed the first phase to plug into existing substation and interconnection infrastructure.

Lydian's Broader Portfolio

Based in Washington, DC, Lydian is an independent energy infrastructure company that develops, finances, constructs, owns, and operates utility-scale power projects across North America. The company works in partnership with landowners, communities, and capital providers.

Lydian currently owns a 6.0 GW portfolio of projects and has partnered with numerous developers through acquisitions and co-development arrangements.

The firm leverages its development, EPC, and financing capabilities to bring mature projects through to commercial operation, an approach it applied to the roughly 10-month buildout of the Faraday battery storage system in Utah County.