Mar 4 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Michael Hartranft Albuquerque Journal, N.M.



PNM is gearing up to participate in a demonstration project funded in part with $1.75 million in stimulus money to test a battery storage system for solar-generated electricity.

Proposed by PNM and five partners -- UNM, Sandia National Labs, Northern New Mexico College, the Electric Power Research Institute and Premium Power Corp. -- the PV-Plus Battery Solution will combine photovoltaics with a utility-scale battery system to explore the potential for storing electricity generated by a renewable energy for later use.

"Utilities around the world are looking for ways to store electricity generated by renewables because it makes an intermittent resource more useful," PNM spokeswoman Cathy Garber said.

The project will be tied to the PNM grid, with some of the stored electric output delivered a few hours after the solar PV production period peaks, or about the time demand on the grid is at its highest, she said. The project will also be used to reduce voltage fluctuations, she said.

 PNM in November was awarded a $1.75 million Department of Energy stimulus grant for the battery, made by Reading, Mass.-based Premium Power, and a control system for the demonstration.

PNM will match the grant and fund construction of the solar component, a 500-kilowatt solar photovoltaic system that will be built near Mesa del Sol. It put out a request for proposals for the solar project this week. Proposals are due April 15.

The total cost of the project, identified in PNM's renewable energy plan, would be about $6.05 million, which the company proposes to recover through rates if OK'd by regulators.

PNM says the project could be in service within nine to 12 months following PRC approval.

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