Solar + energy storage is popular in Arizona

The 20MW solar energy storage project is Arizona’s largest utility-scale solar farm, providing enough power for 5,000 home users. The lithium-ion battery energy storage system is equipped with an installed capacity of 10 MW, which can store enough power to power home users during peak hours in the evening.

The project’s solar farm consists of 258,000 photovoltaic panels deployed in 104 hectares east of Casa Grande.

Mike Hummel, General Manager and CEO of SRP, said: “The design of the project enables SRP to use both solar and battery energy storage to optimize clean energy output and benefit our customers. In addition, the project will help SRP achieve Renewable energy goals while reducing carbon emissions.”

SRP will purchase all of the electricity produced by the project, which is owned and operated by a subsidiary of Nextera Energy Resources. Nextera signed a 20-year power purchase agreement for this project in April 2017. Nextera plans to procure 20% of its energy from “sustainable sources” by 2020 and claims that this percentage will meet its target and reduce carbon emissions by 33% by 2035.

Matt Handel, vice president of renewable energy development at NextEra Energy, added: “We are pleased to work with SRP to connect this innovative solar energy storage project to the grid to provide customers with unprecedented value. The project also brought local conditions. Significant economic benefits. Created jobs and provided additional tax revenue to local communities.”

During the construction of the project, more than 150 jobs were provided, including 4 full-time positions. The project is currently operational and will bring over $7 million in additional revenue to Pinal County over the life of the project.

In recent months, Arizona utility companies, network operators, legislators, and the public have become more interested in energy storage project deployments, especially solar energy storage projects. State legislators are considering a series of changes, including an installed capacity of 3 GW of energy storage targets and a so-called “clean peak standard”. First Solar and utility company Arizona Public Service (APS) are deploying a 50 MW battery energy storage system and deploying 65 MW of solar power in the state. APS has also deployed a 16MWh battery energy storage system that is expected to stop the company from building 20 miles of transmission and distribution infrastructure. Another U.S. utility company, Tucson Electric Power (TEP), claims to have “historically” in the tender for a 100MW solar power facility in May 2017 and a 30MW/120MWh energy storage system down to $0.03/kWh. Low price.”

NextEra’s subsidiary, Florida Power Company (FPL), recently announced that it will deploy one of the largest solar energy storage projects in the US to date, with a solar power facility with an installed capacity of 74.5 MW and a battery energy storage system capacity of 10 MW/40 MWh.

Source: China energy storage network