Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, a wholesale power supplier for 44 electric cooperatives including Columbus Electric Cooperative, Inc., announced that a 25 megawatt solar facility is being built about 25 miles northeast of Deming.
The facility is being built by D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments, LLC, and Denver-based TurningPoint Energy, who are contracting the electricity generated to Tri-State.
The Albuquerque Journal reported that the facility is scheduled to be online by the end of 2016.
The Luna County facility, and two facilities near Roswell for Southwest Public Service Company, are drawing broad attention in the renewable energy industry because of the low-cost electricity they will provide.
Southwest Public Service officials said they will pay about 3.5 cents per kilowatt hour starting in 2017 for the 140 megawatts of electricity supplied by the Roswell facilities.
Tri-State Transmission won’t say what it will pay for electricity from the Luna County facility, but spokesman Drew Kramer said the price is “very competitive.”
Costs for solar-generated electricity reportedly have been rapidly declining in recent years, spurring accelerated development of solar facilities nationwide.