ENERGY
Solar projects break ground in NW New Mexico near shuttered coal plant
The two utility-scale projects will supply carbon-free power to Los Alamos County, Meta鈥檚 data center operations
Construction of two utility-scale solar and battery storage projects on Ute Mountain Ute land is underway.
Combined, the two projects 鈥� Foxtail Flats and Four Mile Mesa 鈥� will have the capacity of 270 megawatts of solar energy and 180 megawatts of battery storage. They are on Ute Mountain Ute tribal land in San Juan County, near the now-demolished coal plant, the San Juan Generating Station.
Alok Sindher, managing partner of Tierra Adentro Growth Capital, owner of the projects, said the company will connect to PNM鈥檚 electric grid near the now-decommissioned station. He said construction will be complete in summer 2027. The projects will create up to 600 jobs, some of which will be prioritized for tribal members, Sindher said.
Sindher said the project will be able to capture federal tax credits for renewable energy projects, which are sunsetting.
鈥淥ur capital allowed us to get this construction moving faster and enabled phase two of it,鈥� Sindher said of TAG Capital鈥檚 equity investment in the project. The projects are in partnership with New York-based DESRI.
The State Investment Council committed $100 million to TAG Capital in September as a part of the council鈥檚 effort to invest in funds that focus their capital on New Mexico companies or projects.
One of the projects, Foxtail Flats 鈥� which will have 170 megawatts of solar capacity and 80 megawatts of battery capacity 鈥� is under a power purchase agreement with the Incorporated County of Los Alamos.
Matt Heavner, a member of Los Alamos County鈥檚 Board of Public Utilities, said in a news release that the projects 鈥渨ill provide a major new source of reliable, carbon-free electricity to Los Alamos, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories and Kirtland Air Force Base.鈥�
He added, 鈥淔oxtail Flats鈥� combination of solar plus storage means we can capture abundant New Mexico sunshine during the day and then use the batteries to deliver that energy in the evening, when people are home, lights are on, and the grid is under the most stress.鈥�
The Four Mile Mesa project 鈥� which will have 100 megawatts of solar capacity paired with 100 megawatts of battery storage 鈥� is under a power purchase agreement with PNM to support data center operations for Meta Platforms Inc.
SOLV Energy will serve as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the facilities. The batteries will be manufactured in America by South Korean manufacturer LG Energy Solution, said Sindher.
Justin Horwath covers energy and tech at the Journal. He can be reached at jhorwath@abqjournal.com.
