Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, a cooperative for solar energy, is partnering with juwi Inc. on the 100 MW Spanish Peaks Solar Project. The development is adjacent to the 30 MW San Isabel Solar Project in Las Animas County, Colo., which was developed by juwi and began producing power for Tri-State in 2016.
Tri-State, a wholesale cooperative power supplier owned by 43 member electric cooperatives and public power districts, will purchase the entire output of the project over the 15-year term of Tri-State’s power purchase contract. The 660-acre project includes more than 300,000 PV panels on single-axis tracking arrays.
This is Tri-State’s fourth utility-scale solar project and the first renewable energy purchase agreement announced by Tri-State following the issuance of its request for proposals for renewable energy supply in June 2018.
“Tri-State secures renewable energy with the highest value at the lowest cost for our member cooperatives, and this is our largest, most cost-effective solar project to date,” says Mike McInnes, Tri-State’s chief executive officer. “By developing renewable projects through Tri-State, our members take advantage of an economy of scale unavailable in smaller projects.”
The Spanish Peaks Solar Project is located approximately 20 miles north of Trinidad, Colo., within the service territory of San Isabel Electric Association, a Tri-State member system serving all or parts of seven counties in southern Colorado.
Construction of the Spanish Peaks Solar Project is expected to begin in 2022, supporting 150 jobs during the peak construction period. The project is anticipated to be completed in 2023.
