ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., June 9, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mesa del Sol, Albuquerque's visionary mixed-use, master planned community in the southern part of the city, was recently featured in NEDO Focus, an international magazine that focuses on energy, environmental and industrial technologies. The publication touted Mesa del Sol as one of the world's "Smart Communities," and focused on the smart grid that is powering Mesa del Sol's Aperture Center. A copy of the article is at http://www.nedo.go.jp/content/100642109.pdf
"Mesa del Sol's smart grid is the first of its kind in the world," said Manny Barerra, Managing Director at Mesa del Sol. "This project, which was built in conjunction with NEDO, Sandia National Labs, PNM ad UNM, is the first one where a commercial micro-grid utilized a variety of renewable energy generation and storage sources to supply power to a commercial building. The implications are huge as the U.S. looks for unique solutions to minimize impact on the nation's electric grids."
Mesa del Sol's micro-grid has received international notoriety, and many countries have sent delegations to study the smart grid including representatives from Australia, Brazil, China, Spain, Japan, Germany as well as people from San Diego Electric and Stanford University.
"A key component of this project is how to reliably use renewable energy sources that are inherently unpredictable and unreliable, with the goal of implementing them in an impactful and sustainable way," Barerra added.
About Mesa del Sol
Mesa del Sol is a 12,900-acre mixed-use district located on Albuquerque's south mesa. By combining job creation and sustainable urban community planning, Mesa del Sol will reflect a balance of environmental resources, economic objectives and social amenities in a community that is forward-looking with a highly defined sense of place. Mesa del Sol is a model sustainable community with plans to incorporate 18 million square feet of office, industrial, and retail space with 4,400 acres for residential development of 37,000 homes and supporting retail use. Mesa Del Sol incentivizes builders to exceed sustainability goals, and the master-plan includes the development of a solar-ready strategy for both residential and commercial elements and all commercial buildings are expected to be LEED Certified. More information is available at www.mesadelsolnm.com