US Largest Solar Plant to be Built in New Mexico

Officials announced plans Thursday to build a[b] giant solar energy plant [/b]in the New Mexico desert in what is believed to be the largest such project in the nation. [b]The 92-megawatt solar thermal plant [/b]could produce enough electricity to power [b]74,000 homes[/b], far exceeding the size of other solar plants in the US. The largest solar thermal plant in operation now is about 70 megawatts, said Dave Knox, a spokesman for New Jersey-based NRG Energy, the company building and running the facility. The plant was announced at a time when communities around the country are drawing up plans for solar and other alternative energy projects, especially with millions of dollars in stimulus money available. El Paso Electric Co. has a 20-year agreement to buy the electricity the plant generates. David Stevens, the company’s chief executive officer, said the utility was interested in the project because New Mexico has “some of the best solar hot spots in the country.” The plant — to be called the Suntower —[b] will be built on 450 acres of private land [/b]near the Santa Teresa port of entry in far southern New Mexico near El Paso, Texas. It will be similar in many respects to a steam plant, [b]using the sun instead of fossil fuel to generate steam and produce electricity[/b]. It will look like a giant field of mirrors relatively low to the ground, interspersed with 180-foot towers topped by boilers. Motors on the mirrors will keep them aligned with the sun. Construction is expected to start early next year. El Paso Electric says it will take up to 16 months to build the plant, which is expected to be in [b]full operation by the summer of 2011[/b]. New Mexico state law requires utilities to get 6 percent of their total energy sales from renewable energy, such as solar or wind. The requirement goes to 10 percent in 2011, 15 percent in 2015 and 20 percent in 2020.
Name:
Email: Please write you email or phone number.
Phone number:
Title / Keywords:
Question /
Comment:
Remaining Symbols: 1200
If apply choose location of the property
Enter the answer::  
    	    	
 
© GeoImot LTD. www.geoimot.com by ilianko privacy policy  
.