Jan. 28--SANTA FE -- A Spanish renewable energy giant plans to build one of the world's largest solar arrays 16 miles southwest of Santa Rosa, Gov. Bill Richardson announced Wednesday.
Construction on the project, which would be on 2,500 acres and would employ 75 full-time workers, is expected to begin by October or November.
Officials with the Spanish company GASolar, a subsidiary of Corporacion Gestamp, said they plan to invest about $1 billion in building the massive photovoltaic solar array over the next four years.
The project could have an energy output of 300 megawatts, or enough to power 50,000 households.
"This kind of announcement does say that New Mexico is a leader in renewable energy," state Economic Development Secretary Fred Mondragon said.
State leaders have been trying to entice a Spanish company to set up shop in New Mexico for the past few years, Mondragon said.
In GA-Solar, the state has forged ties with a company that operates more than 20 solar power plants in Spain.
New Mexico isn't promising funding assistance to the company to help develop the project, though GA-Solar could be eligible for several state tax credits, Mondragon said.
Company off icials said Wednesday that they plan to purchase solar panels from outside producers -- possibly from New Mexico -- but that most of the other building materials would be provided by GA-Solar.
Construction of the solar array in Guadalupe County would temporarily employ an estimated 300 workers.
Transmission of the energy generated by the solar plant still has to be worked out, most likely with PNM.
When completed, the GASolar plant would join with other companies in New Mexico's burgeoning solar power industry, including Schott Solar, a solar panel and component manufacturer based at Albuquerque's Mesa del Sol.
Rep. Jose Campos, D-Santa Rosa, who attended Wednesday's announcement, said the state has the potential to be the Silicon Valley of renewable energy.
"We have a lot of wind, we have a lot of sun and we have a lot of biomass opportunities," Campos said.
The announcement is the latest of several renewable energy projects to be unveiled during the first month of 2010.
A wind tower company plans to build a plant in Santa Teresa, a green building products manufacturer is planning a facility in the Gallup area, and PNM is planning to build a series of utility-scale solar projects that would eventually produce a total of 45 megawatts of electricity.
Some projects, however, have been delayed due to financing or other problems. Among them are Solar Array Ventures' plant west of Albuquerque and Signet Solar's plant near Belen.
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