Posts Tagged ‘Jim Hayhoe’

Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Sun-News

By Diana M. Alba

LAS CRUCES – NASA‘s recently announced plan to buy flights from two companies that will launch from Spaceport America gives the $209 million project a shot in the arm, as the facility preps for a ceremonial dedication of its largest building on Monday and the overall project inches closer to completion, supporters said last week.

NASA’s involvement adds credibility and boosts the viability of the spaceport, said state Sen. Mary Kay Papen, D-Las Cruces, who chairs the state oversight panel for the project. “We’re not just depending on Virgin Galactic,” she said of the spaceport’s future. “I think it’s something that we’d been hoping would happen.”

NASA booked at least one suborbital flight – with the option for buying two more – from Virgin Galactic, a space tourism company and the main Spaceport America tenant, the company said last week. And UP Aerospace Inc., a Denver-based commercial launch company, announced about a week ago that NASA awarded it a contract to launch payloads on two rocket flights, with the option for six additional flights.

“There’s some serendipity happening, where some of these research companies are finding the use of the Virgin system is a good way to test things and is certainly cheaper than launching rockets into orbit,” said Rick Holdridge of Deming, chairman of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority. “There’s a market Virgin Galactic never really thought much of, but it’s starting to grow rapidly.”

Also, Virgin Galactic – a British company headed by billionaire Richard Branson – said last week it has collected $58 million in deposits from 455 would-be tourists who’ll launch to suborbital space from the spaceport, possibly starting in 2013, officials said.

‘Almost an icon’

About 500 people – invited guests only – are expected to attend a Virgin Galactic-hosted event Monday at the spaceport to christen the $32.5-million terminal-hangar facility, a sting ray-looking structure often depicted in spaceport images.  Gov. Susana Martinez, Congressman Steve Pearce and NASA representatives are expected to attend the ceremony, called the “Keys to a New Dawn.”

Monday’s event is significant because the terminal-hangar is “almost an icon” that signifies a major shift in the space industry, said New Mexico Spaceport Authority Executive Director Christine Anderson. “You can say it’s just a building, but it’s really ushering in a new era,” said Anderson, who’s in charge of the state-owned spaceport. “And it’s happening right here in New Mexico.”

Still, spaceport opponents criticize the project, saying that they doubt it will be the economic engine backers claim and that it was a poor use of state Legislature funds. Others take aim at two sales taxes passed by voters in Dona Ana and Sierra counties that are helping to pay for spaceport construction.

Dona Ana County Commissioner Karen Perez said she remains skeptical about the spaceport and how many jobs it will create. Plus, she’s concerned there’s not yet a route paved for easier access to the spaceport from the south. “There’s nothing in the project that has changed substantially,” she said. “It’s a project we’re paying for and we’re still not benefiting from it.”

Not finished

The terminal-hangar construction, originally slated for completion in December 2010, was plagued by a series of problems, ranging from the lack of a permanent power supply to the remoteness of the southeastern Sierra County site to sluggish payments by the state to contractors. Despite Monday’s ceremony, the building isn’t ready for Virgin Galactic to take occupancy. Construction is expected to wrap up in late November, officials said. And a certificate of occupancy must be issued, at which point Virgin Galactic will take over and begin what could be a year of work further outfitting the building.

Overall, the first phase of construction – the terminal-hangar, an operations building, a 10,000-foot runway, three vertical launch pads, the paving of a northern road to the facility, water and wastewater systems and a power line to the site – is about 93 percent finished, Anderson said Friday.  Construction on the dome-shaped operations building, which will house security, EMS, firefighters, grounds keeping, the spaceport’s technical operations manager and the Spaceport Authority offices, likely will conclude in January or February 2012, according to Anderson.

The terminal-hangar on Monday will be dubbed the “Virgin Galactic Gateway to Space Building,” Holdridge said.

The installation of a power line to the spaceport site had potential to further stall the project’s first phase, considering a permanent electricity source is needed before the state can sign off on spaceport contractors’ work. But spaceport officials said the line is nearing completion. The power line had been installed and set to go online last week, when a company installing telecommunications accidentally cut through it. It could be repaired as early as next week, Anderson said.

State Rep. Andy Nunez, I-Hatch, a spaceport supporter, visited the site in August with a panel of lawmakers, and expressed concern construction wasn’t further along. “I hope they’ll be doing some catch-up,” he said. “I’d love to see that thing dedicated.”

The Spaceport Authority has begun Phase 2 of the project, which includes the visitors’ centers and a paved southern road to Spaceport America, Anderson said.

Lease payments

After the formal takeover, Virgin Galactic will begin paying $1 million a year in lease payments for use of the facility, Holdridge said. The payments would be prorated because its tenant status would start in the middle of the fiscal year.

“It’s going to be nice to see that major milestone take place with the dedication and the fact Virgin Galactic is going to be taking over responsibility for the facility,” said Jim Hayhoe, president of Spaceport America Consultants, a local company. “It’s a major milestone and it also starts some significant cash flow for the state to start getting some money back.”

Virgin Galactic has begun relocating staff to the Las Cruces area in preparation for the start of its space tourism flights, officials said.

Space vehicles

The development of Virgin Galactic’s two-vehicle system by the firm Scaled Composites continues at Mojave, Calif. In all, WhiteKnightTwo, the plane that will carry a spaceship aloft for a mid-air launch, had completed 73 flights through Sept. 29, according to a Scaled Composites flight log. Meanwhile, SpaceShipTwo had been dropped from the plane 16 times. It lands as a glider. The rocket motor that will power the spaceship to suborbital space after detaching from the plane is currently in testing, also at Mojave.

Symposium week

Also this week, industry officials, government officials and researchers will meet Tuesday to Thursday for the International Symposium for Personal Commercial Spaceflight in Las Cruces. A tour of Spaceport America is slated for participants on Friday. Holdridge said the symposium is a chance to showcase the spaceport. “Are there ways we can get more customers to the spaceport?” he said. “I’d love to see us find some new customers.”

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 Steve Ramirez

LAS CRUCES – The lease approved Monday may be just the start of plans by SunEdison to build two solar power plants in Las Cruces and sell the power to El Paso Electric Co.

Along with the one-year option on a lease agreement approved Monday by the Las Cruces City Council, there’s also an agreement in place between the worldwide solar energy company and El Paso Electric for SunEdison to provide 24 megawatts annually, in renewable energy. A megawatt is equal to 1,000 kilowatts or 1 million watts. That means SunEdison’s option to build one – and very likely two – solar generating facilities in west Las Cruces appears more likely than conceptual.

“That’s our hope and plan,” said Ricardo Acosta, director of resource and delivery planning for El Paso Electric. “At this point we’re awaiting regulatory approval from the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission. We have a hearing on Thursday to gather facts of the case, and hopefully, we could hear something from them in November or December.”

Jared Schoch, Southwest regional sales manager for SunEdison, said as many as 200 construction jobs could be created when work begins to build the two generating facilities and there would be jobs, although fewer in number, to maintain and operate the two facilities. “For the construction phase there could be anywhere from 20 to 30 different contractors working on the project,” Schoch said. “A lot of that labor is going to be local.” Schoch added that construction to build the two facilities could take 18 to 20 months to complete.

Clay Doyle, vice president of New Mexico Affairs for El Paso Electric, said SunEdison was selected earlier this year from the more than 20 companies after El Paso Electric issued a request for proposals.

The council voted 6-0, with Councilor Dolores Connor abstaining – because her husband works for El Paso Electric, to approve the lease agreement for land near the Las Cruces Airport. There was also quick consensus to bring forward a proposed land sale of as much as 200 acres at the West Mesa Industrial Park for a second generating facility. The land sale agreement will be formally considered by the council at its Nov. 1 meeting.

“It’s great to have private-sector partners,” Councilor Nathan Small said. Added Councilor Olga Pedroza, “It’s a good thing all around and I’m glad to be working in partnership.”

But Las Crucens Jim Hayhoe and Leon Billstone, who said they supported the development of solar energy, expressed concerns that the council could get a better financial return. “I cannot believe you’re getting fair market value,” said Hayhoe, of the $500 per acre lease agreement for land located just south and west of Las Cruces International Airport. “(And) One thousand dollars is a ridiculous option amount.”

Billstone said, “It looks awful cheap to me. But the project is good, as long as it’s not going to hurt the airport.” Billstone was also a bit concerned that the generating facility could hinder glide paths of aircraft approaching the airport’s Runway 4-22. However, city officials heeded a recommendation from the city’s Airport Advisory Board and stipulated in the lease agreement that the facility cannot interfere with aircraft or airport operations.

Christine Logan, economic development and revitalization administrator for the city, pointed out that the site for the generating facility is near El Paso Electric’s airport substation, just off of Interstate 10. El Paso Electric also has a power line that runs above the property SunEdison is interested in leasing. Power from the generating facility would either be transmitted to the nearby substation or to the power line above it.

Steve Ramirez can be reached at (575) 541-5452

Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Bulletin

By Todd G. Dickson

Efforts are progressing to build a solar power plant in Hatch, which could be ready to begin generating 5 megawatts by summer 2011.

So far, NextEra Energy Resources has negotiated a power purchase agreement with El Paso Electric Co. and secured a 35-acre site in the village’s industrial park. The agreement with El Paso Electric is part of the utility’s rate request for 2011 that still needs to be signed off by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission.

Should all the regulatory requirements be cleared over the next several months as expected, construction on the plant could start in December or January 2011 and be operational by June 2011.

The proposal may be a small plant by the company’s standards – NextEra Energy Resources is the largest U.S. company in the renewable energy market with a total generating capacity of more than 18,000 megawatts in its operations in 28 states and Canada – but the Hatch plant will be using new technology that gets its energy from the sun in a more concentrated fashion.

This would make the Hatch plant the largest plant in North America using concentrated solar photovoltaics, said Cory Ramsel, NextEra Energy Resources project manager.

“It’s a little project, but it’s a step in the right direction,” Ramsel said.

The plant would have 90 stations 55 feet tall with solar panels 40 feet wide that will automatically follow the sun’s path. The panels have specialized optics that greatly concentrate the sunlight onto silicon cells to generate electricity. It’s a method that was first developed by Sandia National Laboratories.

There are still issues such as the regulatory steps and getting the transmission system in place, but Ramsel is cautiously optimistic that the proposal will come to fruition, noting the cooperation he’s received from Hatch officials.

“We have a good partnership with the village,” he said.

Jim Hayhoe, a consultant to the Village of Hatch, began working on the project almost two years ago. Hayhoe, who is interested in helping Spaceport America bring economic development to the local communities, said the effort began with conversations with the spaceport’s former executive director Steve Landeene.

Landeene told Hayhoe he was interested in getting some kind of solar generation project going for the spaceport, which is located in the desert between Hatch and Truth or Consequences. At the 2008 International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight, Hayhoe met Paul Turner of Renergix Solar. By early 2009, Renergix formed a partnership with NextEra to get the project going.

The project work has intensified greatly the last few months, Hayhoe said.

While the mostly automated facility will only need two full-time employees, the construction could require as many 30 workers, Hayhoe said. Also, the plant will become the flagship for the industrial park to attract other green industries, he said, and the village is moving to set aside adjacent land to allow for future expansion of the plant.

NextEra Energy Resources, which has a wind plant in eastern New Mexico, sees the state as having promising renewable energy resources, Ramsel said.

NextEra Energy Resources is the largest U.S. producer of renewable energy from the wind and the sun. According to its website, the company is the No. 1 solar power generator in the United States and the No. 1 wind energy producer in North America.

The company co-owns and operates seven solar plants in California’s Mojave Desert, the world’s largest solar site. In all, NextEra Energy Resources operates 310 megawatts of solar power, which is capable of meeting the energy needs of about 230,000 homes.

In 2009, NextEra Energy Resources corporate parent, NextEra Energy Inc., reported revenues of more than $15 billion and employed more than 15,000 employees. Headquartered in Juno Beach, Fla., NextEra Energy’s principal subsidiaries are NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, the largest generator in North America of renewable energy from the wind and the sun, and Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), which serves approximately 4.5 million accounts in Florida and is one of the largest rate-regulated electric utilities in the country. Through its subsidiaries, NextEra Energy collectively operates the third largest U.S. nuclear power generation fleet, according to its website.

Article courtesy of Las Cruces Sun-News

By Brook Stockberger

LAS CRUCES – If you’ve been following the news about Spaceport America, you know that construction has been well under way. The mythical-sounding place where humans can pay to take a ride into space – and, less mythical but probably more common, where companies can launch payloads – broke ground in June 2009.

“It’s chugging along,” said Rick Homans, director of New Mexico Spaceport Authority, of the $200-million project. “Pretty much all the construction is on track.”

The nearly two-mile runway is about 95 percent completed; the three-story, 110,000-square-foot terminal hangar facility has started to take shape; and the white dome of the airfield rescue fire facility flanks the larger hanger. Anchor tenant Virgin Galactic continues to test its craft in the Mojave Desert.

“We’re looking to be operations-ready in 2011,” said Spaceport spokesman Dave Wilson. “It’ll be ready for Virgin, but we don’t know when Virgin will be ready.”

So while the work continues, something just as big and important looms.

“We’re going full swing into the parallel track of moving from a construction site to an operating spaceport,” Homans said. “The construction phase has been so all-consuming for the last 18 months, it’s hard to think there’s a whole bunch of additional work to do that has greater complexity to it than the actual construction itself.”

Obviously, if you pay top dollar to go into space, you want to return safely.

“You start thinking of the day on the horizon when we’re a (full functioning) launch facility, we have to have a spaceport staff, contractors, equipment, everything operating seamlessly, flawlessly,” Homans said. “But most importantly, we have to have anticipated and drilled and trained for every potential problem or emergency or unexpected occurrence that could happen, and that takes a lot of planning.”

Recently, New Mexico State University’s Space Grant Consortium was selected as the Federal Aviation Administration’s Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation, which enables NMSU to serve as the hub of a minimum $5 million, five-year research coalition addressing key challenges in the development of the commercial space industry. Homans said the center is expected to provide input for the shaping of regulations and operating procedures and practices for this new industry.

“The FAA COE role is still to be determined,” said Pat Hynes, director of the space grant consortium. “The FAA is the organization that will make the determination on what they want the COE to do.”

Either way, the fact that the spaceport is now a going concern has stirred up excitement.

“No question, from a client standpoint, there are a lot more inquires,” said Jim Hayhoe, who operates Spaceport America Consultants. “There will be a lot of specific supply chain needs for Virgin Galactic.”

Chicago-based David Houle, a writer and strategist who travels the world talking about the future and global trends, visited Spaceport America for the first time Friday.

“This is large and breathtaking,” Houle said.

He said he understands why some people were dubious as to whether such a fantastical sounding facility would ever actually take root. He said it is easier to not get your hopes up about such a groundbreaking venture, but, a visit to the spaceport would put those doubts aside.

“People live in their times,” Houle said. “Some people used to say, ‘Man will never fly.’”

Even with all of the advanced technology to be put in place, Wilson said one of the important projects has been the road, currently dirt, that runs south out of the location. It connects the spaceport with I-25 and cuts travel time from Las Cruces to less than an hour.

“This is critical,” Wilson said. “It’s important for the workers who will come from Dona Ana County to have a shorter commute.”

Brook Stockberger can be reached at (575) 541-5457.