New Orleans utility to explore sunshine and storage with new project
Source: By Jennifer Larino, New Orleans Times-Picayune • Posted: Friday, May 15, 2015
Entergy New Orleans Inc. has announced its first solar power project as part of its effort to explore how sunlight can reliably and cost-effectively jazz up the power grid in the city.
The company plans to install more than 4,000 solar panels at an existing site that holds the capacity to generate 1 megawatt of electricity, with a deadline of late 2016. The company also hopes to integrate new battery technology for storing excess energy from the grid.
Charles Rice, Entergy New Orleans’s CEO, said the company has evaluated possible paths to incorporate more renewable energy in the city with the help of New Orleans’ City Council.
“This project will allow us to study the feasibility of utility-scale solar here in New Orleans and also the extent to which battery storage can help compensate for the intermittency of sunlight,” Rice said , May 12).