Colorado's largest solar facility to be built near Mosca

BY LISA MOORE, Valley Courier, San Luis Valley, CO

ALAMOSA, (Spring, 2006) Xcel Energy on Thursday announced that a photovoltaic (PV) solar power plant will be built on 80 acres located three miles north of Mosca and one-fourth mile west of Hwy. 17 near the 8 Mile Rd. The company anticipates construction will begin this summer and be completed by the end of 2007.
The PV facility will use the sun to generate electricity for homes and businesses. When complete, it will produce about 13,700-megawatt hours of electricity a year and could supply power for as many as 1,800 homes.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory recommended the San Luis Valley as the top area in the southwestern U.S. for such a facility. "This facility will put the San Luis Valley on the map for solar power production and will also add significantly to the region's economy," said Pat Vincent, president and CEO, Public Service Company of Colorado, an Xcel Energy company.
Colorado State Rep. Rafael Gallegos, D-Antonito, who is vice-chairman of the 2006 House Select Committee on Strategic Renewable Energy, said the facility will lower heating costs, therefore helping the Valley's many low-income residents. It also plays a part in reducing U.S. dependence on foreign imports, such as oil. "It is real plus for all citizens of Colorado and maybe a beginning for setting standards for the rest of the U.S," Gallegos said.
San Luis Valley Development Resource Group Director Mike Wisdom said plans for the facility have been in the works for a while. "We need to get away from fossil fuels," he said. "We need to invest in renewables."
Besides being an environmentally safe way to access energy, the project has economic benefits. "It will generate more power than we need, so we will export it and import money," said Wisdom.
The construction phase, expected to last more than a year, should produce 40-75 jobs. The actual facility, when completed, will be mostly self-sufficient, requiring few employees. However Wisdom said, "Once you have one plant, it will expand and you will have another," he said.
Tom Henley of Xcel Energy Corporate Communications explained how the solar power plant will work. "It is a single access tracking solar facility which means it is fixed in one location and the panel itself will track the sun." As the sun rises, the panels will face east and slowly tilt toward the west as the sun sets each day. While solar energy is not available at night or when it's cloudy, those disadvantages pale in comparison to the environmental advantages. It will produce no air emissions and use no water on site. Its source, the sun, will never be depleted.
This project and the rebates being offered for on-site solar installations will be paid for out of funds approved by the voters when they passed Amendment 37 in 2004. Colorado voters were the first in the nation to vote on and pass a statewide renewable energy requirement that increases electricity from renewable resources such as the wind and sun. Amendment 37 requires Colorado's top utility companies to provide a percentage of their retail electricity sales from renewable resources beginning with three percent by 2007 and increasing to 10 percent by 2015.
"This PV plant combined with Xcel Energy's Solar Rebate program will help bring us closer to meeting the state's Renewable Energy Standard," said Xcel's Vincent.
Thursday's announcement coincides with the company's solicitation of request for proposals for bidders to build, own and operate the plant. The solicitation may be viewed at www.xcelenergy.com/rfp.