ALAMOSA — Staff with energy company RWE were at the Elks Lodge in Alamosa on Wednesday to answer questions from the public about the proposed facility that will hold a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS). A more-than-expected number of people showed up to ask questions with three RWE staff on hand to answer.
According to Matthew Ryan, manager of RWE’s energy storage development, the project will be on 17.5 acres of land, recently purchased by RWE, on Lane 8N about 6 miles west of Highway 17. The property is immediately adjacent to the road and is across the street from an existing substation and solar farm.
The Alamosa Energy Storage Project is designed to store electricity from Public Service Company’s (PSCo’s) (Xcel Energy) electricity grid when readily available and save it for use when demand is high — regardless of whether the sun is shining, or wind is blowing. According to Ryan, it will also have the capacity to provide backup power in the event of a blackout.
When completed, the 380 MWh facility will reflect a $150 million investment by RWE with the capacity to deliver 95MW for up to 4 hours.
The project will be comprised of 225 storage containers containing rechargeable lithium batteries for storage and placed in a series of rows, with each container measuring 45 feet long by 8 feet high and 8 feet wide.
Construction will require some disturbing of land, but plans are to build a “vegetative border” of native grasses and plants surrounding the storage facilities and extending to the property lines to hold the soil in place and prevent blowing dust. That vegetation will be maintained by a maintenance person who will also control for noxious weeds.
Xcel/Public Service has put out a request for offers but based on comments from Ryan, RWE is confident of being awarded the contract, as reflected by investments already made. If successful, construction is projected to begin in May of 2024 with the facility going online in December of 2026.
The bulk of jobs associated with the project will be during the construction phase when it is estimated about 70 jobs will be created over a 12-month period. Once the BESS is in full operation, only one full-time employee will be required to maintain the facility.
The only risk posed by a BESS is the potential of fire, but Tara Wilkins with SWCA Environmental Consultants, whose company is consulting on the project, says that should a fire break out, it would involve lithium batteries in the storage containers and, as such, be contained to that space.
That response was backed up by Ryan who also said that manufacturers have built-in safety systems such as monitors, voltage regulators, and separators to minimize the risk and keep it contained.
There is also an alarm system that will notify the RWE employee of a problem.
When asked about how much “noise” the facility might make when it is in operation, Ryan said that studies equate it to the amount of noise made by a car going about 45 miles per hour as heard from a distance of 50 to 60 yards away. When asked to make that a little more understandable, he said, “The people who are living in the area won’t even hear it.”
When asked what the most frequent question or concern expressed by people who attended the open house was, Wilkins said, “Almost the first question everyone asked is what color are the containers going to be. People are worried that the facility is going to ‘stick out’ and be really noticeable.”
Wilkins said that the decision was to paint the storage containers a neutral sort of tan to blend in with the landscape.
People expressed concerns about construction traffic generated on Lane 8N, which is a dirt road, creating dust that will land on nearby farmland. Plans will be in place to regularly spray down the dirt to avoid blowing dust.
People also asked if the BESS would create pollution and Ryan’s response was no, adding the amount of CO2 and greenhouse gases that will be replaced by the system.
The ability to store power generated by the sun and wind for times when the sun is not shining or the wind is not blowing has been a key step forward in expanding the use of renewables, Ryan says. The same can also be said for the ability to meet the demand for power during peak hours.
Right now, that gap in power needed and power available is being met by fossil fuels. BESS will be a clean energy alternative that both provides much needed support and back up in the event of a blackout.
RWE is also in this “for the long haul” and committed to supporting the growth and stability of the United States’ and Colorado’s renewable energy market with over $10 billion of investment domestically and $2 billion of investment in Colorado with plans to invest an additional $50 billion in the U.S. by 2030.
Future RWE projects in Colorado will produce over 1.2 GW of electricity from development of wind, solar, and storage projects with the capacity to power over 1.5 million Colorado households and drive energy costs down for all users.
