Solar projects approved in Curry and Roosevelt

The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (PRC) has approved six potential solar community projects located in Curry and Roosevelt counties for the opportunity to build and operate their facilities.

The six projects, with a total capacity of 26 megawatts (MW), enough to serve 13,000 households at any given time, are among 45 such projects statewide, representing 198 MW, that the PRC approved on May 22, according to a PRC news release.

The Community Solar Program, created by the Community Solar Act, was designed to allow homeowners, renters and qualifying organizations to tap into solar energy without having to purchase and install solar panels, according to the news release.

The news release also stated the solar electricity market the program will create will also “generally offer discounted rates on electricity.”

Program terms call for at least 30% of power produced by each community solar facility to be reserved for qualified low-income customers and low-income service organizations, the news release stated.

According to the PRC’s website, the projects approved for Curry and Roosevelt counties include:

• Clovis Concrete North, 5 MW, in Clovis, operated by Pluma LLC, located in Los Ranchos

• Curry Road North, 3.25 MW, Clovis, operated by Pluma LLC.

• Oasis Sol Community Solar Garden, 5 MW, Portales, operated by CSolPower, LLC, located in Albuquerque and working with SunShare Community Solar, based in Denver, Colo.

• Clovis IV, 5 MW, Clovis, operated by SVOE, LLC, located in Bastrop, Texas

• Portales I, 2.75 MW, Portales, operated SVOE, LLC

• Cannon Solar, 5 MW, Clovis, operated by Cannon Solar, LLC, based in Baltimore, Md.

The Oasis Sol project is expected to construct solar facilities on a site east of Portales, according to Corrina Kumpe, chief operating officer of SunShare. Kumpe stated the project should become operational “as early as 2024.”

Kumpe stated the facility will have the capacity to serve about 3,000 residential customers.

“We look forward to delivering millions of dollars of savings to New Mexicans,” Kumpe stated, “and to executing our educational and workforce training programs that will drive the New Mexico renewable energy economy forward.

Attempts to reach other companies whose Clovis and Roosevelt County projects were approved on May 22 were not successful.

The Curry and Roosevelt County projects the PRC approved on May 22, were among 10 granted in Southwestern Public Service Company’s service area, with a total capacity of 45 MW. Allocations to the state’s other investor-owned utilities, included 30 MW to El Paso Electric Company and 125 MW to the Public Service Company of New Mexico.

The PRC news release stated the developers of approved projects may begin applying for permits to connect their facilities to the utilities’ power grids. Utilities are required to process applications within 10 business days of receipt, the news release stated.

According to the PRC’s website, community solar projects have the potential to generate $517 million in economic benefits, create 3,760 high-quality jobs over the next five years and generate more than $2.9 million in tax revenues annually for the state from private companies.