New Mexico State University will lead a $14.2 million project to study the development of a large-scale pumped storage hydropower facility on Navajo Nation land in the Four Corners region.
The Carrizo Four Corners Pumped Storage Hydropower Center Project is funded by $7.1 million from the US Department of Energy and $7.1 million in cost-share contributions. Those contributions include $2 million from the New Mexico Department of Higher Education’s Technology Enhancement Fund and $1.1 million from the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department.
The project is intended to provide reliable power and long-duration energy storage to the Western Interconnection grid, as well as additional grid services. The proposed facility would have a generating capacity of 1500MW, a pumping capacity of 1338MW, and about 70 hours of storage.
“The Navajo Nation is providing strong support for the project, assisting NMSU with permitting, access to project sites and collaboration on environmental and cultural reviews,” said Fengyu Wang, principal investigator and NMSU assistant professor in the Klipsch School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “This partnership builds on a long-standing relationship between NMSU and the Navajo Nation, rooted in mutual respect, shared goals and sustainable energy development.”
“The Carrizo Pumped Storage Hydropower project addresses the seasonal production-load mismatch critical for a reliable and cost-effective decarbonized grid,” Wang added. “It will provide seasonal-duration storage to shift surplus variable renewable energy from spring to meet summer peak demand, and from early fall to offset winter underproduction. This capability is essential for maintaining reliability during extreme extended weather events and prolonged wind/solar lulls.
“Beyond renewable integration, Carrizo Pumped Storage Hydropower will stabilize large continuous loads like data centers by providing backup, peak-shaving and flexible load balancing to ensure uninterrupted operations and optimal efficiency,” he said.
According to the Department of Energy, pumped storage hydropower is the most widely used form of energy storage on the US grid and plays a key role in adding renewable resources to the system.
NMSU is leading the project in partnership with Kinetic Power LLC, Columbia University, Colorado School of Mines, Baylor University, Argonne National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory. Other NMSU team members include Di Shi, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Patricia Sullivan, associate dean for outreach in the College of Engineering.
