NRG Energy, eSolar to Develop Solar Plant in New Mexico for El Paso Electric
June 16, 2009
NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) and its solar-power development partner eSolar said Thursday that they plan to build a 92-megawatt solar-thermal power plant in New Mexico under contract with El Paso Electric Co. (EE).
Written by Cassandra Sweet , The Wall Street Journal
SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones)--NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) and its solar-power development partner eSolar said Thursday that they plan to build a 92-megawatt solar-thermal power plant in New Mexico under contract with El Paso Electric Co. (EE).
NRG will build and own the plant using eSolar's solar-thermal technology and engineering know-how, company executives said. The solar plant will be built on private property in Dona Ana County, N.M., avoiding what might otherwise be a long wait for permission to use publicly owned land, as other solar power developers have discovered. The companies hope to get all the local and federal permits they need and have the facility built and operating by late 2011.
The New Mexico plant is one of several solar power plants NRG and eSolar are jointly developing on private land, the companies said.
"Our objective is to accelerate development of these projects and get them built and operating," Michael Liebelson, NRG's head of low-carbon technology, said in an interview. "Locating on private land gives you a leg up."
New Mexico regulators have approved the 20-year contract, according to NRG.
A spokeswoman at El Paso confirmed that the utility signed a solar-power purchase agreement with NRG, although she declined to give details before a Thursday morning press conference.
The utility will use the solar power to comply with New Mexico rules that require utilities to use renewable sources for a fifth of their retail power by 2020. Renewable power requirements like those in New Mexico and California, established over concerns about climate change and energy security, are driving growth in solar and other renewable energy markets, which have been hit hard by the economic downturn.
In late February, Princeton, N.J.-based NRG invested $10 million in Pasadena, Calif.-based eSolar and struck a deal to jointly develop 500 megawatts of solar power plants using eSolar's technology. In addition to the New Mexico plant, the companies are developing a 245-megawatt solar farm in Kern County, Calif., for which eSolar signed a power purchase agreement with Edison International (EIX) unit Southern California Edison. California regulators have approved Edison's request to recover the costs of that contract from customers.
ESolar has built a demonstration solar-thermal power plant in Southern California with the technology that the company plans to use for the commercial-scale plants.
Shares of NRG closed Wednesday at $23.62; El Paso Electric stock was trading at $13.79.
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