ALAMOSA — Xcel Energy announced Friday it will cut its solar
development plans by at least half, if not more, because of
uncertainties over the in-service date for a new transmission line
out of the San Luis Valley.
Mark Stutz, a spokesman for the
utility, said Xcel would file a series of proposed reductions to the
Colorado Public Utilities Commission regarding the level of solar
power generation the company had hoped to bring online by 2015.
The company originally had been approved for 355 megawatts of
solar development. Now that total could range anywhere from 60 MW to 185
MW, depending on the development scheme chosen by the utilities
commission.
A megawatt of generation typically is enough to serve 750 homes.
The San Luis Valley was expected to receive the majority of that
development and Karen Hyde, a vice president for the Xcel Energy, said
the company's focus on the valley would remain.
"Our commitment to the development of solar resources from the San Luis
Valley over the long term has not changed," she said in a written
statement.
"But because we cannot guarantee the ability to move power to the grid
when these solar resources become available, we are compelled to step
back from our original plans and seek this reduction."
Xcel and the Tri-State Generation & Transmission Association had
proposed the transmission line as a means of exporting solar power out
of the valley and as a way to improve the grid's reliability in the
area.
But the $180 million proposal has met stiff resistance in utilities
commission hearings from Trinchera Ranch, which sits in the path of the
line.
The ranch has developed a series of alternatives that it argues would
increase reliability and allow for energy export.
"If in the future new transmission is needed for export, we believe
there are better, less impactful and cheaper ways to build transmission
than the utilities are proposing," ranch spokesman Cody Wertz said.
It also has spurred opposition from the SLV Renewable Communities
Alliance, which argues that widespread rooftop and small-sized solar
developments would have less environmental impact and create more jobs.
The biggest impact in the valley from the reduction will come in Alamosa
County where three photovoltaic projects totaling 102 megawatts either
have been approved or are awaiting approval by the county.
All three projects hoped to secure a power purchase agreement from Xcel.
The company's original development plan of 355 megawatts also envisioned
the construction of a concentrated solar power plant with storage
capacity in the valley.
Xcel's Stutz said the biggest proposal for 185 MW of development would
include such a plant, while two other proposals would be limited to 90
MW and 60 MW, respectively, of photovoltaic development.
Concentrated solar thermal technology gathers the heat from the sun and
uses that heat to power a turbine, while photovoltaic technology
converts the sun's rays directly to electricity.
The reduced development will mean less tax revenue and fewer jobs for
the county.
County Administrator Barry Shioshita estimated that a 35 MW photovoltaic
plant could produce $200,000 in annual property taxes for the county.
While such a plant could have anywhere from 50 to 150 construction
workers, it likely would result in five to seven permanent jobs once
online.
And while the county has yet to receive any formal applications for a
concentrated solar power plant, Shioshita said it has had informal
discussions with a company that hoped to build a 250 MW plant on 3,000
acres.
He said the company's projections included up to 1,700 construction jobs
and 75 permanent jobs.