Bernalillo County commissioners voted to adopt an industrial revenue bond for the Curacao Energy storage project, a battery energy storage facility that staff said will store renewable generation from the Western Spirit line and begin operations in 2026. Director Marcos Gonzales said the project could “pretty much power half of Bernalillo County for four hours when deployed.”

The county’s action provides a personal property tax exemption for the equipment portion of the project; staff said the exemption was necessary for the developer to secure private financing. Gonzales told commissioners the IRB does not involve a county loan or bond the county will underwrite: the “$225,000,000 represents the private investment into the project and to purchase the equipment,” he said.

Why it matters: County staff characterized the project as infrastructure that would stabilize the grid and make the region more attractive to future job‑creating industry, even though the storage facility itself will employ a small permanent workforce.

Commissioners pressed staff over the expected economic benefits. Commissioner Benson said her hesitation was “because there’s one job associated with this,” and asked for clarity about long‑term job creation. Gonzales replied that while the storage site would have “one full time job that maintains the facility,” it would provide reliability and redundancy that could encourage advanced manufacturing, warehousing and distribution businesses to locate in the area.

The commission debated that tradeoff before taking a final vote. Chair Olivas said the county is “participating in site readiness in a slightly different way,” and framed the incentive as supporting cleaner and more affordable energy for ratepayers; commissioners also discussed whether the county’s economic development approvals should require stronger evidence of direct job creation.

Outcome: The commission adopted the ordinance to approve the IRB on final reading by a 3–1 vote. Director Gonzales said the developer plans to start operations in 2026 and that construction will create 40–70 temporary jobs.

Next steps: Staff said they expect to close the transaction in December and will monitor pilot payments and compliance with lease and pilot agreements.