ALBUQUERQUE — The U.S. Department of Energy announced Tuesday it is teaming up with yet another energy company as part of a mission to transform portions of government-owned property once used for the nation’s nuclear weapons program into prime real estate for renewable energy endeavors.

The federal agency will be negotiating a lease agreement with Florida-based NextEra Energy Resources Development for nearly 3 square miles of land surrounding the nation’s only underground repository for nuclear waste.

The project at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in southeastern New Mexico is the latest to be announced by the Energy Department, which has identified more than 50 square miles of government land that can be used for constructing solar arrays and battery storage systems that can supply utilities with emissions-free electricity.