Xcel Energy to build 8 megawatt solar power plant in San Luis Valley of Colorado
Sprawling complex will cost $60 million
By Colleen Slevin, The Associated Press
HOOPER, Colorado. /April 24, 2007
Source: Mail Tribune
http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070424/BIZ/704240304
With the sun glinting off the shovels, Xcel Energy broke ground Monday on a $60 million solar power plant designed to supply enough electricity to power 1,500 homes The 8-megawatt photovoltaic plant in the San Luis Valley about 130 miles south of Denver will be the largest solar plant for civilian use in the country, backers said.
“The energy generated from this facility will be clean and prevent harmful carbon emissions from entering the atmosphere,” Gov. Bill Ritter said. Ritter said the solar plant in the sunny, wide-open San Luis Valley was another step toward his campaign goal of making Colorado the renewable energy capital of the nation.
Speaking under a tent that was flapping and creaking in the wind, Ritter joked that a wind farm should be the next project for the valley. Electricity from the 82-acre plant will be used by Xcel’s southern Colorado customers. Karen Hyde, a spokeswoman for the Minneapolis-based utility, said the plant will help reduce the amount of power generated from coal-powered and natural gas plants elsewhere in the state.
Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., who also attended the groundbreaking, said the nation’s commitment to renewable energy is stronger now than it was in the 1970s and 80s. He said that’s good for the San Luis Valley, where he grew up. “Here in the valley we mark what is the beginning of what is going to be a sustained effort over time,” Salazar said.
The valley is one of the state’s poorest regions, but its flat, open spaces and plentiful sun make it an ideal place to produce solar power. Chris Cisneros of Antonito, who lost his job last year at a mine after 37 years there, considered taking an out-of-town job but instead got work running heavy equipment for the solar power project.
With a background as an industrial electrician, he hopes he can find more opportunities at the solar plant. “It’s nice being part of history,” he said.
A solar plant planned in Nevada will be larger than the Hooper plant but will be used to generate power for the Air Force. The Colorado plant is expected to be the largest producing power for a public utility.