| Project Detail |
The project objectives are to:
Develop the first fully solarized Pueblo in New Mexico by covering all electricity costs for the entire Pueblo of Picuris
Provide stable income for tribal government
Offset carbon emissions from the current energy load supplied through Tri-State Generation and Transmission, Inc.
Enhance Northern New Mexico’s green energy cluster profile
Create a replicable model for Indian Country using an innovative financial structure that combines private equity investment, tax incentives, and grant financing.
The solar array will provide long-term direct financial benefits to low-income tribal members as well as to the Tribe itself. The majority of the revenue from a PPA with the electric cooperative will accrue to the Tribe for the entire 25-year life of the project. The revenue will be used to offset the cost of the total energy load of the Tribe —both tribal buildings and residences—with substantial funds left over that will help to meet expenses of tribal administration and development. This project is anticipated to create between 1 and 1.25 FTE direct permanent positions and also fund an estimated 2 FTE of indirect tribal government jobs.
Specifically, the Picuris Pueblo Community Solar Array Project consists of the construction of a 1-MW single- axis solar array on a designated 10-acre site of tribal trust land with maximum insolation. The array will consist of close to 3,800 solar panels on approximately six acres of the 10-acre site. Required elements of the array include a racking system, tracking mounts, inverters, interconnect, wiring, conduit runs, junction boxes, and meters. There are both three-phase and 115-kilovolt (kV) power lines that are directly adjacent to the site. The solar array will interconnect to the three-phase line through an underground 24.9/14.4 kV cable that will run from the power pole to the switch gear or the transformer, depending upon the ultimate design of the system. KCEC will conduct a formal interconnect study. However, KCEC owns the line as well as a proximate substation and is familiar with area loads. KCEC is confident that the line has sufficient capacity. The energy generated by the solar array will be sold to KCEC by Picuris Pueblo and fed into the grid. |
