Salt River Project and NextEra Energy Resources have officially commissioned a 100-megawatt battery energy storage system to store the energy produced by a solar energy facility in Coolidge, Arizona.
The Saint Solar facility has been serving SRP commercial customers since the end of 2020 and is one of nine SRP-contracted solar resources delivering more than 650 MW of energy to SRP customers.
The Saint Solar facility and the connected battery energy storage system are operated by subsidiaries of NextEra Energy Resources.
Solar energy from the site is delivered to 11 SRP commercial customers to help meet their renewable energy goals, and the addition of battery energy storage benefits all SRP energy customers, SRP said on Dec.18.
The new storage will be in addition to SRP’s existing large investment in storage resources, including more than 1,100 MW of battery projects to be online by the end of 2024.
SRP has contracted with NextEra Energy Resources for additional Arizona-based solar and battery energy storage projects.
These include the Sonoran Energy Center, an approximately 260-MW solar facility with the ability to charge a 1 gigawatt-hour battery energy storage system. Located south of Buckeye, Arizona, Sonoran Energy Center will be the largest operational battery project in the state.
Additionally, SRP has contracted for the output of Storey Energy Center, an 88-MW solar and battery energy storage system operating in Coolidge.
SRP expects a 25% increase in energy demand by 2030. “To meet this demand, SRP’s future power system will balance adding significantly more renewables and energy storage resources with flexible natural gas to avoid compromising affordability and reliability,” it said.
This aligns with SRP’s recently announced Integrated System Plan, “which incorporated community and customer perspectives to develop a reliable, affordable and sustainable plan to meet growing demand,” the utility said.
In addition to the battery storage SRP will have in operation in 2024, SRP is prepared to add 1,500 MW of new battery resources and 1,000 MW of long-duration energy storage capacity from pumped hydro by 2035.
SRP also plans to add 7,000 MW of new renewable resources, which includes 6,000 MW of new, large-scale solar resources by 2035.
