Posts Tagged ‘El Paso Electric’

Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Bulletin

By Marvin Tessneer

The NRG Energy Company is planning to use a different power generation system than originally proposed for its Santa Teresa facility. It now plans to use tracking mirrors and photovoltaic panels to convert New Mexico’s ample sunlight into electrical power, a company spokesman reported.

Previously, NRG had planned to use a solar-thermal system that reflected and directed sunlight with mirrors at a steep angle into towers that boiled water for steam-powered turbines to generate electric power.

The company now intends to use solar panel arrays to generate electric power with a photovoltaic system because using a solar-thermal array would take longer, said NRG spokesman David Knox.

“What we have in this system is transforming solar power directly into electrical power,” Knox said. “We’ve been working with El Paso Electric Co. to determine a schedule to bring solar power on line as soon as possible.”

NRG decided to make the change to comply with New Mexico Public Regulations Commission (PRC) time line requirements. NRG also has a purchase agreement with El Paso Electric (EPE) Co.

NRG and EPE had first agreed on a 92-megawatt generation facility, but because the photovoltaic system is a new technology, they agreed to reduce the generation to 20 megawatts, the power company reported.

Construction dates for the photovoltaic plant proposal are pending a review and approval by the PRC, Knox said.

The photovoltaic panels will be set up in arrays. The panels will absorb light photons to turn into electricity.

“When photons strike the solar cells contained in a solar panel, they can be reflected, absorbed or passed through the panel,” according to a First Solar information source. “When photons are absorbed, they have the energy to knock electrons loose, which flow in one direction in the panel and exit through connecting wires as solar electricity, ultimately providing power for residential and commercial users.”

First Solar is the leading photovoltaic panel manufacturer in the United States and has been providing panels for the NRG Blythe Solar Project in Riverside County in southeastern California.

“Power generated by the Blythe Solar Plant can provide enough energy to serve the needs of about 17,000 homes at peak capacity and will replace more than 12,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year from fossil fuel generation,” a First Solar information release states.

NRG is planning to install the photovoltaic arrays on 450 acres near Santa Teresa, 10 miles west of El Paso. But it has not named a solar panel manufacturer for the project, pending PRC approval, Knox said.

When completed, the solar-power system will be connected with an EPE transmission line, avoiding additional construction, the utility company reported.

NRG has been conducting a 21-megawatt solar power research and development project at the commercial Blythe plant since 2009. The solar-generated power has been sold to Southern California Edison under a 20-year purchase agreement.

“This project demonstrates leadership for California in the utility-scale solar market, providing the lowest-cost solar energy available and helping the state meet its renewable portfolio standard,” the company reported.

The May meeting of the MVEDA Business on the Border Forum will be held on Tuesday, May 4, 2010 from 11:30 AM until 1:00 PM at the Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces, 705 S. Telshor. The meeting will begin with a hot entree buffet, followed by a brief update by MVEDA staff.

Clay Doyle

Clay Doyle, Vice President of New Mexico Affairs for El Paso Electric (EPE), will be the featured presenter for the luncheon.He will discuss El Paso Electric’s new seasonal rate structure.  Also accompanying Mr. Doyle will be Mr. Paul Royalty, Manager of Energy Efficiency Programs for El Paso Electric, who will be presenting information on EPE’s energy efficiency programs and incentives.

Luncheon cost is $20.00 per person, payable by cash, check or major credit card. Due to space limitations, reservations are required. Please confirm your attendance no later than Thursday, April 29^th to ensure proper space will be available.  You may register by clicking the button below or by calling the office at (575) 525-2852. The meeting is open to the public.

Article courtesy of The Las Cruces Bulletin

By Kristine Sandrick

Capturing the sun’s energy using mirrors to fuel southern New Mexico and west Texas homes was the hot topic of the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance annual appreciation luncheon Friday, March 12, at Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces.

Luncheon keynote speaker Jim Shandalov, eSolar’s vice president of business development, talked about his company’s new power plant under construction in Santa Teresa, New Mexico. The company plans to break ground this spring and have the power center operating by summer 2011.

Shandalov said the 92-megawatt plant is being constructed in unincorporated Dona Ana County, 1 mile north of the Mexican border off the Pete Domenici Highway.

The Santa Teresa plant will use 390,000 mirrors to collect energy, and the turbines will be connected to El Paso Electric power lines. Shandalov said the electricity will be enough to power 74,000 homes in peak production.

The company’s concentrating solar power (CSP) technology uses a field of small, flat mirrors – called heliostats – to concentrate sunlight onto a thermal receiver mounted on solar power towers approximately 180 feet high. The captured sunlight heats water in a thermal receiver to produce steam that powers a traditional turbine generator and produces electricity. The eSolar technology leverages a highly accurate system to track the sun over the course of the day.

Due to its modular design and preassembled components, the eSolar solution allows plants to be sited on private land parcels near existing transmission lines and points of consumption.

“It’s a 500-acre site, which is a lot less land and uses less steel than a typical plant, but will create more processing power,” he said. “There will be more (boiler) towers and more mirrors than at our 5-megawatt Sun Tower plant in Lancaster (Calif.)” In addition to the Lancaster plant, which opened in August 2009, eSolar has solar energy partnerships in India, China and South Africa.

Idealab – an Internet search engine company that was bought by Yahoo! – created eSolar just three years ago in Pasadena, California.

“New Mexico in general has done such a tremendous job to bring us here,” Shandalov said. “That’s what brought us here. The site is directly adjacent to El Paso Electric lines and Dona Ana County is supplying the water for the coolers.”

He added that there is a good workforce available to fill the 400 jobs created during the 14- to 16-month construction period.

Shandalov said the plant is built to last 30 years and the only major maintenance required is keeping the mirrors clean and replacing them as necessary.

Also during Friday’s luncheon, MVEDA’s chief executive officer Davin Lopez presented the nonprofit agency’s new marketing look, which he said will help southern New Mexico better attract national site selectors.

“Our goal is to make this area competitive across the country. When people think of New Mexico, they think of how rural it is so we want to broaden what they think of us as a region,” Lopez said.

MVEDA’s new logo emphasizes the “MV,” which stands for Mesilla Valley, and clearly identifies the area’s location with the state. Lopez also presented a new MVEDA website that emphasizes the availability of “the right space” for both commercial land and aerospace development. The website also has a language translator so it can be read by anyone anywhere in the world.

For more information, visit www. nmborderplex.com.

Article Courtesy of the Las Cruces Sun-News

By the end of the year, California-based eSolar hopes to begin construction on a solar power plant near the Mexican border that will include 500,000 mirrors and is scheduled to provide power to El Paso Electric Co. for 20 years. The plant should be ready by 2012.

That was the news from Jim Shandalov, eSolar’s vice president of business development. Shandalov spoke Friday at the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance annual appreciation luncheon at Hotel Encanto.

“It’s the power tower technology that will take sunlight from the sky,” Shandalov said.

The power plant will use the mirrors to reflect sunlight onto towers where water will be heated and produce steam that will then be used to turn turbines.

More than 100 people were on hand for the luncheon that also featured the unveiling of a new branding campaign for MVEDA. The economic development organization has a new logo and a revamped Web site.

“We do compete nationally and to compete we needed to raise our game,” Davin Lopez, MVEDA president and CEO, said.

The luncheon takes place annually so MVEDA can say “thanks” to its partners in the community

In its monthly board meeting of July 15th, 2009, the MVEDA Board of Directors elected new officers and board members for the upcoming year. New Board Chairman George Ruth of Citizens Bank of Las Cruces was elected at the June 17th board meeting. He replaces Immediate Past Chairman Bryn Davis of Sapphire Energy.

New officers for the upcoming year are:

• Vice-Chair – Gary Lenzo, First Community Bank
• Secretary – Dolores Connor, City of Las Cruces
• Treasurer – Kiel Hoffman, Pioneer Bank
• Executive Committee Member At-Large – J.B. Pruett, Northrise Ventures, LLC

Re-elected board members are:

• Clay Doyle, El Paso Electric
• Gary Lenzo, First Community Bank
• Gabe Ruiz, New Mexico Gas Company

New board members include:

• Jim Easley, Wells Fargo Bank New Mexico
• Stan Rounds, Ex-Officio, Las Cruces Public Schools

MVEDA is governed by a board of directors representing both the private and public sectors. Institutional members represent the City of Las Cruces, Dona Ana County, New Mexico State University, Dona Ana Community College, the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce, the Hispano Chamber of Commerce de Las Cruces, and White Sands Missile Range. Private sector board members represent a wide diversity of business and industry. They serve 3-year terms and are elected by the board.