Project Overview

Oso Negro Energy Storage (Oso Negro) is ideally located in the City of Albuquerque, New Mexico, to be developed adjacent to PNM’s transmission grid and West Mesa Substation. The battery storage facility will provide capacity and energy services to the PNM electrical grid in Bernalillo County, enhancing grid reliability, helping to make the transmission grid more efficient, and accelerating the integration of renewable energy resources. A Zoning Map Amendment for the Oso Negro was unanimously approved for the project by the City of Albuquerque in December 2023. 

Construction of the Oso Negro Energy Storage facility is anticipated to start in 2026. The 2027 completion of the Oso Negro facility will ensure that PNM meets its reliability needs and supports the attainment of its goals to reduce carbon dioxide by 80% by 2040, five years ahead of the New Mexico state carbon-free energy mandate. 

Situated directly adjacent to existing transmission lines and the existing West Mesa substation, the site will have no adverse environmental impacts. The Oso Negro facility site is an optimal location for new energy infrastructure as it will eliminate the need for long transmission lines to connect it to the existing power grid and is a conducive use to the surrounding infrastructure.