New Mexico electric co-op adds enough solar PV to generate 100% of daytime energy from the sun

Kit Carson Electric Cooperative (KCEC) and Guzman Energy celebrated the completion of the 15-MW Taos Mesa Solar Array on June 3. The array will be capable of powering approximately 7,500 homes with locally generated renewable energy.

At a ribbon-cutting event, KCEC marked the official construction completion and testing of the project, which is located roughly nine miles northwest of the Town of Taos. The project spans roughly 170 acres, has 43,680 solar panels and is part of KCEC’s overall solar energy footprint totaling 41 MW of distributed solar throughout its service territory plus 15 MW of accompanying battery storage. With the addition of the Taos array, the electric cooperative expects to provide customers with 100% solar energy in the daytime this summer.

“When we partnered with Guzman Energy in 2016, we set an ambitious goal of becoming one of the cleanest energy cooperatives in America,” said Luis A. Reyes, Jr., CEO of KCEC. “Providing our members with 100% daytime solar power, delivered by locally built and maintained solar arrays and battery storage while also reducing cost for our members is an accomplishment we are incredibly proud of. We are serving our members the clean power they’ve been asking for while lowering costs, and we’re also helping to meet our state’s overall climate change action initiatives.”

The state of New Mexico has set an objective to achieve a statewide reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by the year 2030. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham attended the ribbon cutting, noting that KCEC is leading the way for other cooperatives around the state and the country in driving the energy transition.

Guzman Energy has been the wholesale power provider to KCEC since 2016, when the co-op exited its contract with Tri-State Generation and Transmission in order to provide the co-op with more control over its energy mix and give its members more cost-effective and rate-stable local energy. KCEC will complete repayment of its exit fee from Tri-State by the end of June 2022 while reaching its goals for cleaner and lower cost power. Co-op members will see a decrease in their electric bills through the fuel adjustment line item and will realize savings of up to 25%.

“What Kit Carson Electric Cooperative has achieved here today is a phenomenal example of how rural cooperatives can make a significant impact locally for communities as well as globally on climate change,” said Jeffrey M. Heit, principal and managing director of Guzman Energy. “Guzman Energy is proud to be KCEC’s partner delivering a blueprint for energy transition to cooperatives across America.”

News item from Kit Carson Electric Cooperative

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Original Source: https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2022/06/kit-carson-adds-solar-pv-generate-100-percent-daytime-energy-sim/