Nation’s Largest Solar Energy Plant Planned in New Mexico

(image: newmexicoindependent.com)

New Mexico will soon be home to the nation’s largest solar plant, currently being constructed by NRG Energy, a New Jersey based wholesale energy producer, the Boston Globe reported on Friday.  The facility will be large enough to power 74,000 homes.

The facility, nicknamed The Suntower, will be located near El Paso, Texas. El Paso Electric, an electricity utility which services households in western Texas and parts of New Mexico, has a deal to purchase from The Suntower for 20 years. El Paso Electric provides electricity to 363,000 customers; down the line, The Suntower could provide a large portion of electricity to the firm’s coverage area.

NRG Energy is using the solar thermal process at The Suntower. At solar thermal plants, mirrors track the path of the sun; the mirrors then are focused on a central receptor which heats a substance which generates steam to turn a turbine. Other solar fields use a different technique in which panels on the ground directly turn the sun’s rays into electricity.  NRG Energy has looked at bringing solar energy to other regions of the country. The firm plans on building 500 megawatts of solar thermal plants throughout California and the Southwest. NRG has indicated it might build its next solar facility near Houston, where it owns a significant amount of land.  However, the focus so far has been on New Mexico. And while the large amount of empty space played a role, tax incentives also have helped lure energy firms to the state.

New Mexico has also placed strict rules requiring its utilities to use renewable energy sources. In 2011, 10 percent of energy sales must come from renewable energy. In 2020, the percentage increases to 20 percent.

The chief executive officer of eSolar, a firm partnering with NRG Energy to develop its solar fields, says that electricity generated by solar is becoming competitive in price to fossil fuels.
In addition to energy and utility companies, other firms are interested in developing solar technology. As reported last week here on The HEAT Zone, Google has looked at ways to generate electricity using renewable sources.

The Internet-based company says it is close to developing ways to generate electricity via renewable energy that would be cheaper than that generated by fossil fuels. Google, in particular its data centers, have been regarded as major CO2 emitters due to the large amount of cooling needed at its sites.

Right now, mass electricity generation via solar is just getting going; electricity generated via solar cannot yet be exported to far away sites like the Northeast. But if solar, or other renewable energy sources like wind or geothermal, take off, the demand for crude could significantly drop. And this, in turn, could cut the costs of heating oil dramatically.