By KRWG News
New Mexico – New Mexico's largest utility is teaming up with scientists to develop a way to manage solar energy so it can be accessed when it's most needed, rather than only when the sun shines.
Public Service Company of New Mexico has been awarded more than $2 million by the U.S. Department of Energy for the project. It's part of the agency's effort to improve the electrical grid nationwide and make renewable energy sources more reliable.
As part of the Prosperity Energy Storage project, PNM is installing a 500-kilowatt solar photovoltaic panel system in Albuquerque. The solar array will be connected to a battery system about the size of eight shipping containers.
Project officials say this marks one of the largest efforts nationwide to combine solar and batteries for producing and storing electricity.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.