New Mexico takes a first step toward solar electricity
By Rosalie Rayburn, Albuquerque Journal, N.M. -- June 23
The state of New Mexico on Tuesday issued a request for proposals seeking a consulting firm to help it develop a commercial solar power plant in New Mexico.
O'Hare said he is part of a solar energy task force established by Gov. Bill
Richardson in March to come up with a commercial-scale solar project by the end
of 2004.
The department has budgeted up to $190,000 to award a consulting contract by
mid-August. The scope of the study will be to find the best combination of
technology, financing and operating arrangement for a solar plant.
Money for the study will come from a federal Department of Energy fund,
O'Hare said.
The state wants a solar project capable of generating at least 50 megawatts
of electricity. Proposals could involve concentrating dish technology, which
uses a device similar to a TV dish antenna to concentrate the sun's rays, or an
array of movable mirrors that focus sunlight on a tower-mounted receiver.
"We don't have any particular firm or technology in mind at
present," O'Hare said.
Financing could involve investment by venture capital firms, investor-owned
utilities or a mix of private and state investment, he said.
The study will also look at increasing state tax incentives to help make
solar power more competitive with electricity from fossil-fuel plants, O'Hare
said.
At present, solar power producers can receive a 1 cent per kilowatt-hour
state tax incentive.
The solar plant could be built by a New Mexico utility or an out-of-state
developer. Alternatively, a developer could build the power plant and sell the
power to a utility.
This was how Public Service Company of New Mexico secured wind power from a
wind farm built near Fort Sumner by Florida-based FPL Energy.
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