Energy Storage, Utilities, Solar  -  November 15, 2019

Salt River Project plans Arizona's largest battery project, with solar

Salt River Project (SRP) is planning a 250 MW solar system in Little Rainbow Valley, Ariz., which will charge an attached 1 gigawatt-hour energy storage system, the largest battery storage system adding power to the state grid.

The utility last year committed to adding 1,000 MW of solar to its power supply by 2025. With the addition of the new Sonoran Energy Center along with the Storey Energy Center, an 88-megawatt solar and energy storage system, SRP will be approximately 60% of the way toward that goal. Both plants are scheduled to be online by June 2023 and will be owned and operated by subsidiaries of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC.

"These integrated solar and storage plants will allow SRP to meet its summer peak demand, reduce carbon emissions, and provide clean energy to our customers while optimizing energy output using state-of-the-art battery technology," SRP CEO Mike Hummel said in a statement.

Batteries will store excess energy that will be available to customers during the peak energy usage period when demand is at its highest.

Salt River Project, which plans to reduce carbon emissions by more than 60% by 2035 and 90% by 2050, has other renewable energy projects in the works, including a 100-MW plant in Eloy, another 100 MW plant in Coolidge and an 88 MW plant with battery storage south of Coolidge.

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