Solar+Storage for Clean Energy and Cost Savings at Albuquerque Public Schools

A new solar+storage system at Atrisco Heritage Academy High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico will provide significant cost savings to the school district. The installation, which includes an 850 kW solar array combined with a 721 kW Tesla Megapack 2 battery storage system, will reduce energy costs by $3.5 million over the system’s 25-year lifetime. In the future, the system may be expanded and set up to provide resiliency benefits as well.

Atrisco Heritage Academy High School is a bilingual education facility rich in diverse ethnicities and higher education college prep programs. Atrisco Heritage High School serves 2,200 students within the Albuquerque Public School District, of which 14% of students come from disadvantaged households. The school is recognizing a decrease in high school enrollment, making energy demand charges crucial. With the advanced PV technology, the school will lower peak demand costs and could potentially be used as a shelter during power outages and environmental crises for the surrounding communities.

The project, which is part of DOE/Sandia National Laboratories Energy Storage for Social Equity Initiative, is jointly supported by Albuquerque Public Schools, OE Solar, the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Electricity, Sandia National Laboratories, the New Mexico Department of Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, and Clean Energy States Alliance.

This webinar featured presentations and discussion by project partners.

Panelists:

• Dr. Imre Gyuk, U.S. Department of Energy Office of Electricity
• Dan Borneo, Sandia National Laboratories
• Anthony Sparks, Albuquerque Public Schools
• Kimberli Roth, Director of Sales and Marketing, OE Solar
• Todd Olinsky-Paul, Clean Energy States Alliance (moderator)

This webinar is presented by the Energy Storage Technology Advancement Partnership (ESTAP). ESTAP is a federal-state funding and information sharing project that aims to accelerate the deployment of electrical energy storage technologies in the U.S. ESTAP is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Electricity, managed by Sandia National Laboratories, and administered by the Clean Energy States Alliance.