Boulder, Colo. – September 05, 2026 -- Ascend Analytics now optimizes more than 5.2 gigawatts (GW) of operating battery energy storage capacity through its SmartBidder platform, positioning the firm as the largest independent provider of bid optimization services to the U.S. storage market.
Portfolio spans three ISOs and over 30 customers
The operating fleet includes roughly 4 GW under management in ERCOT, 1 GW in CAISO and 200 megawatts (MW) in PJM, spread across more than 30 customers. Ascend crossed the 5 GW threshold in the second quarter of 2026 following the onboarding of storage assets for California Community Power, a Joint Power Agency, and San Diego Community Power, a Community Choice Aggregator.
Asset mix ranges from 3 MW to 300 MW batteries
Michael Huisenga, Managing Director of Bid Optimization at Ascend Analytics, said SmartBidder optimizes batteries from 3 MW to 300 MW, spanning one-hour to eight-hour durations, and covers standalone, hybrid and co-located wind and solar resources across three ISOs with distinct market rules. He noted that load-serving entities are taking on new market exposure with an asset class many have not previously managed, requiring customized, risk-constrained, automated bidding strategies.
Longer-duration storage expands within Ascend's book
Ascend manages one of the first eight-hour duration batteries to reach commercial operation in CAISO and one of the first four-hour duration batteries to come online in ERCOT. In PJM, where Ascend has operated for more than two years and now manages 200 MW, most of the existing storage fleet consists of short-duration (under one hour) batteries deployed solely for frequency regulation. Ascend is among a small group of providers running bid optimization for longer-duration PJM resources (2-4 hours) that provide frequency regulation, reserves and energy arbitrage, adapting algorithms to successive market rule changes.
CEO ties bidding performance to $50 billion in financing assessments
Matt Tormollen, Chief Executive Officer of Ascend Analytics, said storage economics depend on how well assets are bid into the market. He noted that Ascend's forecasts underlie more than $50 billion in project financing assessments, and that managing over 5 GW of operating storage gives the company visibility into hour-by-hour asset performance under real market conditions, from long-term valuation through real-time dispatch.
SmartBidder integrates forecasting with automated bid optimization
The platform combines probabilistic short-term price forecasting with configurable opportunity cost-based bid optimization, enabling storage operators to capture value across day-ahead and real-time energy and ancillary services markets while managing state of charge, degradation and contractual constraints.