Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association Inc., a wholesale power supplier owned by 44 member electric cooperatives and public power districts, and D. E. Shaw Renewable Investments LLC (DESRI) have signed a 25-year contract to supply the utility with renewable energy from the planned 25 MW Alta Luna Solar Project to be constructed in New Mexico.
The Alta Luna Solar Project is expected to consist of a single-axis tracking array of over 108,000 photovoltaic solar panels located on a 220-acre site in Luna County. The project was developed by Denver-based TurningPoint Energy and subsequently sold to an affiliate of DESRI in partnership with Bright Plain Renewable Energy LLC, a San Francisco-based solar project developer, investor and operator.
The facility is expected to come online in December 2016. Tri-State will purchase the entire output of the solar farm over the life of the contract. Columbus Electric Cooperative, a Tri-State member system based in Deming, N.M., will provide the distribution service.
