Press Room

Sen. Schwartz Applauds Jobs, Sun, Power in the San Luis Valley

Tuesday, August 10 2010

There will be a new solar plant in the San Luis Valley …

... which will power 6,500 homes …
...thanks to 30 megawatts of solar power.
It will be the largest project of its kind in the world when it’s completed in 2012
It will be located on 225 acres of land in Alamosa County.

Yesterday, Cogentrix Energy LLC announced it was planning to build a power plant near Alamosa which would be completed by 2012.  The solar power plant will be located in the San Luis Valley which, according to a press release sent from the company “is one of the best locations for solar energy production in the United States.”

(photo: Large-scale concentrated solar panels made by Amonix use Fresnel lenses to maximize the amount of electricity that can be garnered from the sun's rays. (Credit: Amonix)

“This is an important investment for the San Luis Valley and another step forward for the New Energy Economy in Colorado,” said Senator Gail Schwartz (D-Snowmass), who has represented the San Luis Valley for four years.  “This project brings jobs and tax revenue. It means reducing our reliance on foreign oil.  And it means clean energy homegrown in Colorado, by Coloradans, for Colorado families, and beyond.”

According to the Cogentrix press release the facility will use CPV.  “… CPV [concentrating photovoltaic systems] solar is more efficient, producing more energy per acre than any other solar technology making it well suited for utility applications in sunny and dry climates.”

Congentrix Energy also released a statement from its President:  “Our focus has always been on developing quality power generation facilities that deliver reliable power to our customers," said Tom Bonner, President of Cogentrix Energy. "We're pleased that our Alamosa Solar Generating project continues in that tradition. We have enjoyed a long relationship with Xcel Energy with other electric generating projects on their system and are excited at the opportunity to now be in position to assist them in meeting their renewable portfolio requirements.”

Senator Gail Schwartz sponsored House Bill 1001, which will increase Colorado’s Renewable Energy Standard to 30% by 2020. That means that nearly a third of the power generated from large utility companies like Xcel and Black Hills must come from renewable sources, like solar and wind, in the next 10 years and sets additional requirements for local distributive projects. The bill HB 1001 goes into effect today, Wednesday, August 11^th. 

“Our leadership in clean energy technology has already created thousands of jobs in Colorado,” said Sen. Schwartz. “These are high paying jobs that won't be shipped over-seas and stimulate economic activity in our local communities. This high renewable standard will continue to create jobs in wind, solar, biomass, natural gas, hydro, and geo-thermal to our state.”

HB 1001 also sets the requirement that 3 percent of total electricity sales come from “distributed generation” (DG) systems such as solar.  These DG systems help drive local generation and local market activity, allow energy consumers lower their electricity bills by going solar, and enable utilities to avoid costly investment in new transmission systems.

An increase to 30% gives Colorado the highest clean-energy requirement in the Rocky Mountain West.  Colorado has created 17,000 jobs in renewable energy and energy research since it began investing in the New Energy Economy, the fourth-highest concentration in the nation.   This new solar power plant in Alamosa represents the latest job creation in resource rich rural communities as a part of Colorado's commitment to renewable energy.