FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

7/2/2024

Sahuarita, AZ – July 2, 2024 – Sierra Southwest Cooperatives, Inc. (Sierra Southwest), in collaboration with Arizona Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. (AEPCO), both not-for-profit power cooperatives, together with Prometheus Power (Prometheus) and Stem, announced the successful deployment of a battery energy storage system located in Sahuarita, Arizona. This system will help to provide clean, reliable power to its member-owner Trico Electric Cooperative (Trico).

The project includes a 40-megawatt hour (MWh) battery energy storage system that will benefit Trico by offering reduced energy costs, improved reliability, reduced emissions, reduced system losses, increased transmission capacity availability, and other ancillary services. This is the second of three battery storage systems currently being developed in Arizona as part of AEPCO’s Reliable Energy Plan.

“As demand for power soars and the western energy market becomes more volatile, the importance of our Reliable Energy Plan becomes even more apparent,” says AEPCO CEO Patrick Ledger. “AEPCO and Sierra Southwest remain focused on making strategic investments to strengthen and diversify our portfolio and secure a stable and reliable energy future for our members. Developing these battery storage systems will not only improve reliability, they’ll provide our participating electric cooperative members with the benefits of flexible, clean, renewable energy that can be dispatched for each cooperative’s unique needs.”

CEO of Trico Electric Cooperative Brian Heithoff says, “The Sahuarita battery will provide additional reliability and resiliency in the Sahuarita area. As a not-for-profit, member-owned energy provider, tax credits and PACE incentives, which will help to keep project costs lower, will also flow directly back to Trico’s member-consumers over the life of the project”.

Rohit Garg, Prometheus manager, says, “We are honored to have played a pivotal role in the construction of this monumental facility. With our expertise in battery technology, we are confident that this project will set a new standard for energy storage solutions, driving forward the adoption of sustainable practices in the energy sector.”

Stem also appreciated the opportunity to participate, with John Carrington, CEO of Stem, noting, “We are excited to bring our software and hardware capabilities and market experience to this project for the benefit of Sierra Southwest, AEPCO, and its distribution cooperative members.”

Arizona Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. (AEPCO) is a not-for-profit generation and transmission (G&T) cooperative providing wholesale power and energy services to members and customers in four Southwest states.

Sierra Southwest Cooperative Services, Inc. (Sierra Southwest) is a not-for-profit G&T that provides a vehicle for investments in renewables, battery storage, and other projects to serve the needs of AEPCO’s members and customers.

Together, they operate as Arizona G&T Cooperatives.

For more information about Arizona G&T Cooperatives and its future projects, please visit www.azgt.coop.

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Contacts

Arizona G&T Cooperatives
Mandi Greenmyer
pr@azgt.coop

TRICO
Roberta Lopez-Suter
rlsuter@trico.coop