Oct 28 2013
A New Mexico project continues to receive national recognition; the PNM Prosperity Energy Storage Project has been named as a finalist in the 2013 Platts Global Energy Awards in the sustainable innovation category. Partners in the project include PNM, the University of New Mexico (UNM), Northern New Mexico College (NNMC) and Sandia National Laboratories. The winners will be announced Dec. 15.
"This demonstration project is adding to the knowledge base needed to drive wider adoption of renewable energy while also teaching and inspiring tomorrow's energy innovators," said PNM Senior Vice President and COO Ron Talbot.
Prosperity is a grid-tied solar photovoltaic installation south of Albuquerque that uses batteries and smart grid technology to study key challenges posed by solar energy — how to store energy for later use and how to keep fluctuating energy production from affecting the quality and reliability of the electricity delivered to consumers. Prosperity's solar storage system uses weather, market and customer use predictions to schedule battery operation to shift and smooth solar output.
UNM graduate students have contributed to the project. Through NNMC, Prosperity has given hundreds of middle school students an introduction to the potential of solar energy and college students a real-life opportunity to learn how to use data. The project team has also created a system for data sharing with universities and research institutes nationwide.
The Platts Global Energy Awards are given annually to recognize exemplary industry leadership. Platts is a global provider of energy, petrochemicals, metals and agriculture information.
Source: http://www.pnmresources.com