Microgrids and green hydrogen near Taos

Northern New Mexico cooperative announces advances in microgrids and green hydrogen

Threat of wildfire cited in announcement of three microgrids in northern New Mexico

In New Mexico, Kit Carson Electric has announced plans for investment of $23 million in three new microgrids in its service territory around Taos.

Luis Reyes. the chief executive, cited the risk of wildlife.

“The lack of precipitation and unforeseen extreme weather events in our service area leave our members vulnerable to serious wildfire threats,” he said.

“Should we face broad power grid outages caused by extreme events, we will be able to tap into these new microgrid locally stored power resources.”

In case of power disruptions – such as wildfire effectively shutting down transmission, the stored electricity in the batteries can be tapped to serve critical demands for up to 5.5 hours.

All three locations will get lithium-ion batteries:

Taos Ski Valley, with a capacity of 18 megawatt hours.
Penasco, with 13.5 megawatt-hours; and
El Rio West, with 6.75 megawatt-hours.

Of the $23 million, $14.5 is coming from the Department of Energy and $7.7 from cost-sharing as part of a broad effort to enhance U.S. power grid resilience.

And Kit Carson awarded $231 million for green hydrogen and solar

Kit Carson Electric has been awarded $231 million in New Era funds for its green hydrogen and solar project amid the former molybdenum mining operations at Questa, north of Taos.

Kit Carson plans new solar generation that will be used to create green hydrogen from repurposed wastewater at the mine site. The hydrogen can then be converted to electricity as needed. The project will have a potential of 104 megawatts of energy for 16 hours.

Leaders of Kit Carson heralded the award. Bobby Ortega, the chair of the board of directors, described it as “among the most significant milestones in the coop’s history.” This grant, he said, “will bring to fruition the first green hydrogen project of this type in the nation done by an electric cooperative.”

Luis Reyes Jr., the chief executive, said the project will be a “game-changer for Kit Carson, insuring a reliable power supply even during challenging conditions and allowing first-responders and the community of access to life-saving power during emergencies such as wildfires or extreme natural disasters.”

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