Local Outreach

Plus Power has been developing Oso Negro since 2018 with a focus on meeting the needs of the Albuquerque grid and the customers it serves. We are committed to working with the City of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County community and keeping the City involved throughout the development process.

Community Benefits

The Oso Negro Energy Storage facility will be a good neighbor and a valuable asset to the surrounding community for decades to come. The project will provide necessary capacity to the region with no air polluting emissions. As a static facility with insignificant traffic and minimal municipal services, the Oso Negro facility will have little impact on neighbors. Significant project benefits to the community include:

• High-paying construction jobs

• Enhanced resiliency from a new, state-of-the-art power resource  

• Expanded property tax base for the local district

Community Outreach

Plus Power initiated the process to develop a battery storage facility on Tract 7 of Ladera Business Park in mid-to-late 2020. At that time, we participated in a Pre-Review Team (PRT) meeting with City staff and notified the neighborhoods of a pending application. The PRT meeting did not raise any significant concerns over the use or location, given that battery storage was a permissive use in the NR-C zone. The PRT Notice also referenced the requirement to notify the adjacent neighborhoods of a pending application. That notice was sent out in September of 2020 and did not result in any questions.  No neighborhood meeting was requested. Due to delays in the PNM RFP process, the project did not move forward at that time. 

Today, we have re-started the project and followed up with City staff to review the process and determine the entitlements process. The NR-C zone no longer allows battery storage as a primary permissive use, and the IDO now requires NR-LM zoning. In summer 2023, the City’s Zoning Enforcement Officer reviewed the situation and determined that the project requires a zoning map amendment from NR-C to NR-LM, which requires a new application process and neighborhood notification. Plus Power again notified the neighborhood associations and did not receive a request for a meeting. As part of the City process, we will notify the associations and adjacent property owners of the application letting them know when the hearing date is scheduled and how they can participate. 

One of the reasons that the rear portion of the Ladera Business Park (including the Plus Power property) is of little public concern is because it is buffered by a disc golf course and as well as a large drainage facility that separate this property from the proximate neighborhoods, leaving no residential neighbors immediately adjacent to the business park. The neighborhood also received extensive coordination in the early 2000s when the park was originally designed. 

Plus Power has, and will, provide extensive notice to the area neighborhoods, including:

• August 24, 2020: Notice of proposed Oso Negro BESS sent to residents within ¼ mile including the Ladera West Neighborhood Association and Westside Coalition. After a 15-day comment period, no comments were received.

• April 21, 2023: Members of the Plus Power Team met with Lt. Brian Barnes of the Lieutenant Fire Marshals Office for Albuquerque Fire Rescue to discuss project safety. Lt. Barnes showed interest in our project and did not have major concerns. 

• June 6, 2023: Notice of proposed Oso Negro BESS sent to residents within ¼ mile of the project, including the Ladera West Neighborhood Association and Westside Coalition. After a 15-day comment period, no comments were received.

• August 5, 2023: Email notification of application submission sent to neighborhood associations.

• August 5-7, 2023: First Class USPS letter notifications sent to all neighbors living within 100 feet of project site boundary.

• Week of August 5, 2023: Published newspaper notification of application submission

• August 5-7, 2023: Posted sign of application submission.