DE Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI) has partnered with El Paso Electric to announce the start of construction on the Carne solar and energy storage project. Carne is a 130 megawatt AC solar and 260 megawatt hour energy storage facility located in Deming, New Mexico. It is DESRI's second solar facility built in Luna County after the Alta Luna project, which began operations in 2017. This project will provide clean and reliable electricity to the southwest and bring EPE closer to its goal of achieving 80% clean energy by 2035 and 100% clean energy by 2045.

DESRI is pleased to continue investing in New Mexico's energy transition by establishing its fourth utility scale renewable energy facility in the state and strengthening its long-term partnership with EPE, "said Hy Martin, Chief Development Officer of DESRI." Carne will provide reliable, cost-effective clean energy to EPE and support the transmission grid through the planned large-scale battery storage facility. In addition, the project will provide economic development opportunities for the local community in the coming years. We appreciate the support of EPE, Luna County, SOLV Energy, and other stakeholders for this project

Carne has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with EPE and is expected to commence commercial operations in 2025. According to the indicators provided by the Environmental Protection Agency, the project is expected to generate sufficient clean energy annually to power approximately 37600 households. Galehead Development and Lacuna Sustainable Investments were involved in the initial development of the project.

EPE is pleased to join forces with DESRI to introduce this latest renewable energy generation facility into New Mexico and continue to strengthen our good working relationship. The Carne plant is 100% committed to serving our New Mexico customers and will be a key resource for EPE to meet customer needs and New Mexico's renewable energy portfolio standards, "said James Schichtl, Vice President of Regulatory Operations and Resource Strategy at EPE. The battery storage components of the new factory will become EPE's largest service customer, providing our New Mexico customers with much-needed capacity and reliability. EPE looks forward to the successful completion of the Carne project and looks forward to collaborating with DESRI on future renewable energy projects in New Mexico

SOLV Energy will serve as the engineering, procurement, and construction contractor, and will provide ongoing operation and maintenance services for the project after it is put into operation.