CEAC-2020-11-November

New Mexico Utility, Tribe to Break
Ground on Solar Farm
By Susan Montoya Bryan | Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s largest electric
utility is breaking ground on a 50-megawatt solar field that
will provide power to Western New Mexico University, the
city of Albuquerque and other large users that have signed
on to a new program that officials hope will serve as a model
for boosting access to renewable energy.
As the third-largest solar project on tribal land in the U.S.,
the array will be capable of producing enough electricity to
power the equivalent of about 16,000 average homes for a
year.
Tribal officials gathered on the plains of the Jicarilla Apache
Nation for an Oct. 15 ceremony as others joined a virtual
watch party. Nearly a square mile of sagebrush and grassland
will be cleared for the new solar field, which will provide 2
megawatts of electricity to the tribe as part of the partnership
with Public Service Co. of New Mexico.
Jicarilla Apache President Edward Velarde said the project
marks the next step for the tribe, as it already has its own
utility authority and has built a transmission line and substation
that links the community to the grid.
“With the nation’s forward thinking and exercise of self-determination,
it has enabled us to enter the renewable energy
market,” Velarde said.
Public Service Co. of New Mexico said its Solar Direct program
offers municipalities, educational institutions and other
large users a cost-effective way to meet their renewable
energy goals and carbon reduction mandates while avoiding
the expense of building and maintaining individual solar
sites on their own properties.
The program allows large customers to subscribe to receive
Some of the 30,000 solar panels that make up the Public Service Co. of
New Mexico's 2-megawatt photovoltaic array in Albuquerque, N.M. The
utility company has now broken ground on a 50-megawatt solar field to
provide power to Western New Mexico University, the city of Albuquerque
and other significant power consumers. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan,
File)
electricity matching their usage at a set price from the solar
facility. Customers must commit to purchase the requested
amount of electricity for 15 years. They’ll receive a credit on
their bills based on their subscription levels.
Any customers that use 2.5 megawatts or more are eligible
for the program.
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said the electricity from the
new venture will power over 50 percent of city government
and will mark a big step toward the municipality reaching
its 100-percent renewable goal over the next decade. Other
sources come from solar panels that have been installed on
fire stations, libraries and other city buildings.
Hecate Energy will build the solar plant and Public Service
Co. of New Mexico will enter into a long-term agreement to
purchase the power. It will not count toward state mandated
renewable energy requirements.
Hecate is building two more projects on Jicarilla Apache
land, including another 50-megawatt solar field and a battery
storage facility that will help replace some of the lost capacity
when a nearby coal-fired power plant goes offline in
2022. They also are working with El Paso Electric on projects
in southern New Mexico.
Volume 85 · Number 11 | 25