Construction started of 130 MWac/260 MWh solar and storage project in the US

D E Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI) and partner El Paso Electric (EPE) have announced the start of construction of the 130 MWac/260 MWh Carne solar and storage project located in Deming, New Mexico, USA.

Carne has a 20-year power purchase agreement with EPE and is expected to commence commercial operations in 2025. The site is projected to generate enough clean energy to power approximately 37,600 homes annually. SOLV Energy will serve as the engineering, procurement, and construction contractor, and will also handle ongoing operations and maintenance once the project is operational.

James Schichtl, Vice President of Regulatory Operations and Resource Strategy at EPE, said: "The battery storage component of the new facility will be the largest serving EPE customers and provide much needed capacity and reliability for our New Mexico customers". 

The facility is DESRI's second solar project in Luna County, following the Alta Luna project, which started operations in 2017. This initiative will supply clean, reliable energy to the southwest and help EPE achieve its goal of 80% clean energy by 2035 and 100% by 2045.