BHE Renewables and TIMET Commission World’s Largest Industrial
- Industrial & C&I Microgrids Microgrids News
Marin Holt
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- 6 minutes read
- 106 MW solar array and 50 MW Powin Centipede Stack800 BESS power TIMET's titanium mill in Ravenswood, WV
- Microgrid supplies 70% of TIMET's annual power, bypassing 3+ year grid interconnection backlog
- Powin's battery provides 10-12 hours of continuous 50 MW discharge using lithium iron phosphate chemistry
- TIMET uses electric vacuum melting furnaces for aerospace, defense, and medical titanium production
- Total Ravenswood investment exceeds $500M; solar qualifies for Inflation Reduction Act domestic content credits
BHE Renewables has begun operations at what may be the world’s largest solar and battery microgrid built to directly power a major industrial facility — a 106-megawatt solar array paired with a 50-megawatt Powin Centipede Stack800 battery system at TIMET’s new titanium production plant in Ravenswood, West Virginia. Initial operations commenced in early 2025, with the microgrid supplying approximately 18 MW during the first phase before scaling to full 106 MW capacity by end of 2027.
What Is Being Built
The microgrid occupies 400 acres of the 2,000-acre former Century Aluminum site along the Ohio River, using approximately 200,000 American-made solar panels. BHE Renewables, a Berkshire Hathaway Energy subsidiary, owns and operates the system under a power purchase agreement with TIMET, a Precision Castparts company. The Powin Centipede Stack800 battery system provides 10 to 12 continuous hours of discharge at 50 MW, bridging periods of low solar output. Lithium iron phosphate chemistry was selected for its longer cycle life, reduced thermal runaway risk, and compatibility with TIMET’s industrial load profile. Power is transmitted directly across Highway 2 to TIMET’s plant rather than through the public distribution grid, making this a true behind-the-fence energy system. The battery system meets Inflation Reduction Act domestic content requirements, qualifying BHE Renewables for investment tax credits on the solar component.
Critical Analysis
TIMET’s titanium vacuum melting furnaces draw pulsed high-current rectifier loads, generating 5th, 7th, and 11th harmonic currents that compound with harmonic output from 106. On-site generation reduces grid-facing load but requires careful interconnection engineering to avoid backfeed and protection coordination issues.
5-Year Projection
By 2031, operational data from facilities like this will become the standard requirement for securing interconnection agreements, as ISOs prioritize proven Solar profiles.
Critical Perspective
The project will supply 70% of the facility’s annual load. The article omits a direct comparison to the energy profile of a similar industrial user like Nucor’s steel mill in Sedalia. The Crescent Dunes solar thermal project failed to meet its output guarantees and was decommissioned. Why assume a 50 MW battery can manage the harmonic distortion from 106 MW of solar paired with titanium furnace loads?
Why It Matters
TIMET’s titanium mill uses electric vacuum melting furnaces that require consistent, high-quality power for aerospace, defense, and medical titanium production — conditions a dedicated microgrid can guarantee better than shared grid infrastructure. The project also bypasses an interconnection backlog that typically delays new industrial grid connections by more than three years. By supplying 70% of the facility’s annual load on-site, BHE Renewables and TIMET have created a private energy network for energy-intensive manufacturing that other industries facing interconnection queues may replicate. Canary Media described it as “perhaps the first” instance of a solar-plus-storage system directly powering a large industrial facility at this scale.
Timeline and Investment
TIMET’s total Ravenswood investment exceeds $500 million for the manufacturing plant and microgrid combined. Construction proceeds in three phases timed to match TIMET’s production ramp, with solar and battery systems added incrementally as furnace capacity expands. The titanium mill is expected to employ approximately 200 workers once fully operational, with full 106 MW microgrid commissioning targeted for end of 2027. Powin was selected in September 2024 to deliver the Centipede Stack800 storage system, with deliveries beginning in 2025.
