PowerSecure, PRECorp partner for Wyoming energy storage project
Southern Company subsidiary and microgrid system developer PowerSecure has partnered with Powder River Energy Corporation (PRECorp) to advance a utility-scale solar and battery project in Moorcroft, Wyoming.
Also partnering with the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (NRTC) for this endeavor, PowerSecure aims to help PRECorp strengthen western America’s rural grid. The project in northeastern Wyoming will also reduce annual utility costs for its members, projecting cost-cutting to the tune of $1 million for PRECorp itself.
“This project is about delivering real value for PRECorp’s members,” says Jim Smith, president of PowerSecure. “By combining battery storage and solar generation, we’re helping the cooperative manage peak demand, strengthen reliability and control costs while helping to ensure the system is ready to support future growth.”
The project’s battery system comes in at 5 MW, with the project’s full energy capacity totaling 1.25 MWdc / 21.6 MWh of ground mounted solar. The battery will provide “greater operational flexibility” during peak energy demand, the company says.
Meeting new challenges
The new project “underscores PowerSecure’s ability to deliver resilient, future‑ready energy solutions for rural utilities.” Expected to take about two years, the project will be operational sometime in 2027, PowerSecure representatives say.
The battery system aims to combat the relatively new challenge of nationwide grid strain, even in rural areas where demand is more spread out.
“Our value to our members, has always been, we have to be a trusted energy partner,” says PRECorp CEO Brian Mills. “This entire project is loaded with technology and experience that will equip that very value point that the members have of our cooperative.”
PowerSecure says that deploying battery storage projects like this one will support long-term energy affordability. Additionally, the cooperative is prepared, officials say, to meet the energy demands of the future.
Once operational, the project will join PowerSecure’s portfolio of more than 2 GW of electrical capacity. PRECorp also distributes about 1.8 billion kWh of power to coal mines, oil fields, gas wells, and residences across their territory.
