Utility Co-op Connection
Tri-State to build largest
co-op solar power plant
By Anne Mayberry
Utilities Programs
USDA Rural Development
f all goes according to
plan, by the end of next
year one of the largest
solar projects in the
world will begin
generating enough electric power to
meet the needs of 9,000 homes in New
Mexico. Tri-State Generation and
Transmission Association, based near
Denver, will work with Tempe Arizona’s
First Solar Inc. to develop a 30-
megawatt (AC), 500,000-panel solar
voltaic power plant. The Cimarron 1
Solar Project is the largest photovoltaic
project by an electric cooperative.
“Tri-State is committed to renewable
energy in our resource planning that
brings value to our member
cooperatives across the four states we
serve,” says Ken Anderson, Tri-State’s
general manager. It is noteworthy,
Anderson adds, that Tri-State’s first
utility-scale renewable energy project
will be among the largest worldwide.
“This is a significant venture for Tri-
State that meets several objectives
identified by our board of directors,”
Anderson says. “It further diversifies
our generation mix, it assists us in
addressing carbon emissions and it
helps meet our members’ renewable
energy requirements.”
Colorado and New Mexico require
renewable energy to compose 10
percent of electric utilities’ portfolios by
2020. Tri-State is working with its
distribution cooperatives — electric
cooperative utilities that provide service
directly to consumers — to meet that
goal. The project will be located on a
250-acre parcel of land in Colfax
County in northeastern New Mexico.
As many as 140 construction
employees are expected to work on the
facility. By August of 2010, the first
portion of the new power plant is
expected to be operational. First Solar
will serve as the engineering,
procurement and construction
contractor. It will also monitor and
maintain the plant.
“The advantage of the location
selected is that the land is in the service
territory of Springer Electric
Cooperative, one of Tri-States’ 12 New
Mexico distribution co-ops,” says Jim
Van Someren, Tri-State’s
communication manager. “This
territory is solar rich and adjacent to an
existing transmission line, so no new
transmission is needed.”
Tri-State is also looking at wind
power as another component of its
renewable portfolio, says Van Someren.
For Tri-State, however, solar power
offers another advantage. “One of the
additional attractions of this project is
that we expect it will produce near or at
the peak when demand for power is
greatest — on those hot summer days.”
Does Tri-State have plans for
additional solar facilities?
Van Someren quotes General
Manager Ken Anderson: “You’ll note
that we’re calling this project ‘Cimarron
One.’”
