PNM Prosperity Energy Storage Project

Project profile Site size: approximately 4.9 acres Solar panels: 2,158 Power produced: 500 kilowatts (½ megawatt) Battery containers: 8 Batteries in each container: 160 Storage capacity: 250 kilowatts or 1 megawatt-hour

Energy storage has long been a barrier to realizing the potential benefits of renewable energy.

The sun doesn't always shine and the wind doesn't always blow, which creates reliability issues without fossil fuel sources to back them up.

The PNM Prosperity Energy Storage Project, near Albuquerque, helps to address that challenge.

The project is the nation's first solar storage facility that is fully integrated into a utility's power grid.

Partially funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the PNM Prosperity Energy Storage Project is the first ARRA-funded demonstration to go online.

The project features one of the largest combinations of battery storage and photovoltaic energy in the nation.

It involves extensive research and development of smart grid concepts with:

• University of New Mexico
• Northern New Mexico College
• East Penn Manufacturing
• Sandia National Laboratories

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