Posts Tagged ‘El Paso Electric’

Two of the three renewable energy projects in Doña Ana County are on-line and producing electricity under a power purchase agreement with El Paso Electric. Construction for the third solar energy project has begun in Las Cruces.

NRG at Santa Teresa

NRG Energy, through its wholly owned subsidiary NRG Solar, completed construction recently on the Roadrunner Solar Generating Facility, which is one of the first large-scale solar projects built in New Mexico.  The Roadrunner Solar Generating Facility is located on 210 acres near the Santa Teresa Port of Entry. Its 340,000 photovoltaic solar panels can produce up to 20 megawatts of electricity, which is enough power to supply 6,600 homes in El Paso Electric’s system. (Related story)

NextEra at Hatch

NextEra Energy Resources, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, recently completed one of the largest concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) systems in North America on 39 acres in the Hatch Industrial Park, 7 miles west of the Village of Hatch. The 5-megawatt (MW) system, with 81 solar tracking concentrator panels, was funded by Village of Hatch Industrial Revenue Bonds. The Village put an emphasis on New Mexico jobs for New Mexicans. (Related story)

SunEdison at Las Cruces

SunEdison, one of the largest solar energy providers in North America, has begun construction of the solar power generation facility at the City of Las Cruces West Mesa Industrial Park.  The 12MW solar power project is expected to require 230 construction jobs for a 6-9 month period.

Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Bulletin

By Marvin Tessneer

The Las Cruces community will connect with renewable energy when NRG Energy starts generating power this fall at its Roadrunner Solar Plant in Santa Teresa.

The solar panel plant is being set up on 210 acres of privately owned land, 10 miles west of El Paso adjacent to El Paso Electric Co. transmission lines.

The plant is designed to create 20 megawatts of solar generated electrical power that will be sold to El Paso Electric Co. under a 20-year power purchase agreement. NRG also plans to invest $21 million in the project in the next three years, according to an NRG Energy news release.

“We’re very pleased that the NRG Roadrunner Solar Facility in Santa Teresa is coming along according to schedule, and we’re looking forward to the site’s presentation this fall,” said El Paso Electric Chief Executive Officer David Stevens. “Our 20-year contract to purchase the power from the facility demonstrates El Paso Electric’s on-going commitment to solar energy research, education and utilization in this area.”

At full capacity, the Roadrunner Solar plant will, in domestic terms, supply enough energy for 16,000 families, according to an NRG Energy news release.

The electricity is generated by what is referred to in the industry as photons in solar photovoltaic panels that are manufactured by First Solar, a company in California.

When photons strike solar cells in the panel, they are reflected, absorbed or passed through the panel. When they are absorbed, they have the energy to knock electrons loose, which flow in one direction within the panel and leave the panels through transmission wires as electric power, according to a First Solar fact sheet.

Voltaic solar panels generate direct current, and El Paso Electric converts it to alternating current with an inverter for domestic and business use, the power company reported.

Electric power generated at the Roadrunner plant will avoid an annual emission of 27,000 tons of carbon when compared with fossil fuel generation, NRG Energy reported.

The advantages of solar power, zero-emission, sustainable energy, coincident with peak demand and compliant with the state are convincing, said David Crane, NRG president, in an earlier news release.

Article courtesy of greentechmedia.com

By Eric Wesoff

A 5-megawatt project in the world of photovoltaics doesn’t always warrant news coverage.

But a 5-megawatt project in concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) is a big deal and we’ve learned of an under-the-radar deployment that is currently online and producing power.

The Hatch, NM CPV project would seem to hold title as the largest CPV system in North America. Amonix is the supplier of the CPV equipment.

I spoke with Jim Hayhoe, an economic consultant to the Village of Hatch and he confirmed that the project is indeed online. According to Hayhoe, the project came online on July 2 with 2.7 megawatts and as of a week ago was generating 4.1 megawatts. Construction for the project started in mid-January and was completed on schedule, according to Hayhoe.

The Hatch CPV project employs Amonix CPV systems, although Amonix isn’t commenting publicly, and sits on 39 acres in New Mexico’s Hatch Industrial Park, 7 miles west of the Village of Hatch, New Mexico. The 5-megawatt system uses 81 Amonix trackers and is being built and operated by NextEra Energy Resources, a unit of NextEra Energy.

Each of the Amonix modules puts out about 60 kilowatts.

Blattner Energy of Albuquerque, NM is the EPC and construction contractor for the solar project. The project employed approximately 60 people during the construction phase. We’ve contacted Blattner for comment.

Electricity generated from the projects will be sold to El Paso Electric under a Purchase Power Agreement (PPA) to help meet New Mexico’s Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard.

The project was funded by Industrial Revenue Bonds.

GTM Research has written the definitive analysis of the CPV market — here’s a link to the report. The CPV Ecosystem chart shown below is excerpted from that report.

You can visit the working CPV site and attend The Hatch Chile Festival scheduled for Labor Day. Hatch lays claim as the home of the world’s best chili pepper and can now add home to the largest CPV project. At least until the 30 megawatt Alamosa project comes online.

Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Sun-News

By Diana M. Alba

 SANTA TERESA, N.M. – Amid a backdrop of national uncertainty about the economy, a slate of New Mexico’s top elected officials Monday heralded the growth that could originate with a new $400 million Union Pacific project in Santa Teresa.

Republican Gov. Susana Martinez and three of the state’s five congressional representatives – U.S. Sens. Tom Udall and Jeff Bingaman, Democrats, and Rep. Steve Pearce, Republican – were on hand to mark the start of construction on a new rail yard and intermodal facility, along the international border.

Bingaman noted he doesn’t attend nearly as many groundbreaking ceremonies these days as he once did, acknowledging the country’s economic situation in recent years. Even so, he seemed optimistic.

“Union Pacific deserves great credit for reminding us, with the investment they’re now making today and the work they’re beginning today, that the economy of this country is going to come roaring back, and they’re going to be ready when it does come roaring back,” he said to a crowd gathered just south of a Santa Teresa industrial park.

The facility, expected to take four years to build, will create some 3,000 construction jobs over a four-year construction schedule, officials said. Some 600 permanent jobs would be created, once operations start.

The facility would serve as a place to refuel locomotives and transfer shipping containers from trucks to rail and vice versa. Union Pacific officials said it will serve as focal point for products being shipped to both the East and West coasts.

Martinez said the southern New Mexico region is ripe for economic growth along the international border, but the state hasn’t taken advantage of that in past years.

“New Mexico has not made the most of its strategic positioning in the region, and that changes today,” she said.

The company awarded 65 percent of its first wave of contracts to local companies and is making a commitment to continue that investment, said Jim Young, chairman and CEO of Union Pacific. Also, it’s working with Dona Ana Community College to make sure residents are trained to work at the facility when it’s done.

“We will do everything we can to hire local,” he said.

In the distance, two Union Pacific locomotives and a tailing train were positioned strategically behind officials, as they addressed the crowd of dignitaries and businessmen.

Instead of the stereotypical groundbreaking with shovels and hard hats, officials signed their names into wet concrete blocks, which a Union Pacific official said will eventually be incorporated into the rail hub.

“We’ll have a wall that will enshrine the folks who are here today kicking off this project in a way that will stay with this facility throughout its life,” said Bob Turner, Union Pacific senior vice president, corporate relations.

Attendee Victoria Perea of El Paso, who retired from El Paso Electric Co. as an economic development liaison, said talk of the rail hub has been in the pipeline for years, but the project is finally materializing. She credited the governor, who she also said is a longtime friend.

“Economic development happens over time,” said Perea, a La Mesa native. “I believe there’s a lot of potential, but the potential is in the future.”

Pearce said in a statement he’s promoted the project since 2005 and is “happy to see this work coming to fruition in the form of jobs for New Mexico.”

“New jobs are the key to economic security, which is why I have made jobs my top priority in Congress,” he said.

Udall, too, highlighted the jobs that will result.

“The best thing is the good news of growing jobs here in New Mexico, which is what we need to do in Washington,” he said. “It’s what we need to do at the local level, because that’s what people want right now.”

The facility will be 11.5 miles long and one mile wide and entail 26 buildings and 200 miles of railroad track, according to a Union Pacific news release.

Monday’s gathering was reminiscent of one in October 2006 in Santa Teresa, when Union Pacific officials said construction on the hub could have started in 2008, if a key train fuel tax break were granted by the Legislature. The project never started.

What put the project on hold in recent years was the national economy, said Aaron Hunt, director of corporate relations and media for Union Pacific. But Hunt said the company certainly is moving forward now.

“We’re in it for the long-haul at this point,” he said.

Diana M. Alba can be reached at (575) 541-5443

Clay Doyle

Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Sun-News

LAS CRUCES – El Paso Electric has appointed Robert Clay Doyle to serve as vice president of transmission and distribution. In that position, Doyle – who most recently has been vice president of New Mexico affairs – will oversee the transmission and distribution divisions, which include substations, transmission and distribution design, operations, construction and maintenance.

Doyle has been with El Paso Electric since 1992 and has served in various capacities including manager of the corporate projects office, project manager of corporate transition to competition, supervisor of distribution dispatch and distribution monitoring engineer. He earned a master’s degree and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from New Mexico State University and is a registered professional engineer in New Mexico and holds certification as a project management professional. Doyle has been a fund raising team leader for the local affiliates of Habitat for Humanity, the Kiwanis Clubs of Las Cruces and the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce. He also is an active participant with the Boy Scouts of America and serves on the board of the Bridge of Southern New Mexico and the board of the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance.