LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – NV Energy officials say customers used a record-breaking amount of energy this summer, which coincided with the valley’s historic heat.
The Reid Gardner Batter Energy Storage System is a new storage site expected to keep up with the increased energy demand.
Each of these white buildings on the site holds two big batteries.
The batteries hold a large amount of extra energy from solar farms or other renewable resources. Each battery has enough energy to power 750 homes for two hours, meaning all 208 batteries have enough energy to power 165,000 homes for two hours.
“We need somewhere to put it, and that’s where the batteries come into play,” NV Energy Vice President of Resource Optimization Ryan Atkins says.
They kind of work like portable chargers, Atkins explained.
According to the usage data collected, these systems are needed to pull energy during the ‘evening peak’ hours of the day from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
“When that solar generation starts to go offline, people are getting home, running their appliances, using their air conditioners,” shared Atkins. “We can discharge the energy from these batteries and make sure that we have enough to meet the demand,”
Experts have determined that there are only two options without a method to store extra energy: turn the generating sources off or sell them.
He says battery storage like this site plays a crucial role in meeting energy demand.
The Reid Gardner Site in Moapa Valley accounts for one-quarter of the total battery storage NV Energy added this year alone.
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