Commission approves ES Volta battery storage facility | News | rrobserver.com

Staff Writer

RIO RANCHO -- A battery storage project will go forward in Rio Rancho.

The Sandoval County Commission approved an intent resolution for a $300 million 2024 ES Volta battery storage project at the Oct. 23 regular meeting.

Financial advisor Rob Burpo and development manager James Dune detailed the project.

"This is a battery storage only project, there's not a solar component with it, so it's a little bit different than what you've seen before," Burpo said.

ES Volta is from Newport Beach and was started in 2018 as an IPP independent power producer (IPP) that exclusively developed standalone battery storage projects.

"Most of our portfolio is in California and Texas and the company will be hitting a major milestone in late 2025 with our construction portfolio primarily in Texas, coming online," Dune said. "I primarily develop in New Mexico and Arizona. I'm going to be talking about one project in particular, Gila Monster."

He explained that the battery storage systems are just like the batteries in phones or laptops but on a much larger scale. PNM uses these batteries to store electricity and the grid operator uses them to manage the grid.

According to Dune, a typical container's dimensions are 20x10x4 and aligned in parallel rows. Inside the containers is lithium ion batteries with LFP chemistries, the preferred chemistry used in battery storage systems. The containers are used in purpose-built non-walking fire rated enclosures. They're all standardized and the preferred management for temperature control is a cooling system, rather than HVAC.

The location of the project is on land owned by the project abutting the PNM's Rio Puerco substation on North Encino Road.

"It's important to note that safety is a huge concern for the company and for the community," Dune added.

He says the National Fire Protection Association sets the standard for how these systems are designed and installed.

"That includes the spacing between the batteries, the battery systems and also includes training for the fire protection," he said.

The safety aspect was a concern for County Commissioners Jay Block and Mike Meek.

Dune assured the commission that they will work with local emergency services in the event of any issues. He added that possible danger could happen if the storage facility was vandalized. Since monitoring of the facility happens off site, that is a possibility.

Commissioners passed the resolution unanimously.

Staff Writer