Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) has acquired full ownership of the Beehive battery energy storage system (BESS), a 1 gigawatt-hour (GWh) project in the US state of Arizona, from EDF Power Solutions North America.
Located in Peoria, the 250MW/4-hour duration (1,000 MWh) Beehive storage project is expected to begin commercial operation in the first half of 2026.
Construction on the project began in early 2025. CIP will oversee the project through the remaining construction phase.
The Beehive project will operate under a 20-year tolling agreement with the Arizona Public Service Company (APS), serving 1.4 million homes and businesses in 11 counties.
Beehive is engineered to absorb energy during periods of high renewable generation, store it and then release it back to the grid during peak demand, aiding APS in meeting its escalating energy and capacity requirements.
CIP partner and head of North America Tim Evans stated: “With electricity demand rapidly increasing in the Southwest, we anticipate battery storage will play a critical role in powering innovation and economic growth.
“Beehive will provide reliable energy and grid services to customers in Arizona and build on CIP’s track record of developing, constructing and operating energy infrastructure investments across the country. We are pleased to have worked with the EDF Power Solutions team.”
EDF Power Solutions North America sees the Beehive project as its second stand-alone energy storage project, highlighting its commitment to BESS technology and renewable energy.
Its executive vice-president for grid and distribution-scale power Ryan Pfaff statd: “EDF power solutions actively seeks partnerships across all stages of a project’s lifecycle, with an eye toward both optimising our portfolio and maximising value creation.”
CIP’s fifth fund, CI V, which is investing in the project, reached final close in March 2025. More than $14bn has been committed to energy infrastructure in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
In March 2025, CIP concluded the fundraising for its energy transition fund with commitments exceeding the €12bn ($13.05bn) target.
