Enlight commissions 364MW, 1.2GWh solar-plus-storage project in New Mexico

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Enlight Renewable Energy invested US$827 million into the Atrisco solar-plus-storage project. Image: Enlight Renewable Energy.

Enlight Renewable Energy has commissioned its 364MW Atrisco solar project, in the US state of New Mexico, which is co-located with a 1.2GWh battery energy storage system (BESS).

The company noted that the project’s facilities would be commissioned over time, with some of the solar generation facilities online now, and the rest to be commissioned “over the next several weeks”, and the BESS operations to begin work before the end of this year.

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Enlight has already signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM), a local utility that serves more than half a million customers, that will last for 20 years. The project has been a significant investment for the company, which committed US$827 million to the Atrisco facility, the largest in Enlight’s portfolio in terms of both power generation capacity and capital investment.

“We are proud to see Clenera, our operational arm in the US, achieving the important milestone of Atrisco’s COD,” said Gilad Yavetz, CEO of Enlight Renewable Energy. “Atrisco’s electricity will be generated at an attractive price, reduce carbon emissions and create economic development and employment opportunities for the broader region.”

Enlight worked with a number of other companies at the project, including RES Americas, to provide engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) work, and Miller Brothers, which served as the operations and maintenance contractor. It noted that its panels were supplied by Chinese firm Runergy, which has been subject to interest in a takeover from Tongwei, and its trackers were supplied by Array Technologies, which posted encouraging financial results earlier this year.

There have been a number of developments in the solar-plus-storage space in New Mexico this year, which is on track for some of the fastest growth in the US. According to the US Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the state will add 5.6GW of new capacity over the next five years, 12th-most among US states, and D. E. Shaw and National Renewable Solutions have both achieved landmarks for their projects in the state this year.

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americas, array technologies, clenera, Enlight Renewable Energy, miller brothers, new mexico, public service company of new mexico, res americas, runergy, solar-plus-storage, us