Hecate Energy’s proposed 100MW Santa Teresa solar project has been selected by El Paso Electric Company (EPE) as part of a 350MW solar and storage RFP process designed to add new clean resources to the EPE system.
Pending regulatory approvals, the project is anticipated to be in service by May 2022. It will be developed in Santa Teresa, New Mexico. EPE and Hecate have already entered into a long-term PPA for the output from the project.
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The added generation from the 100MW installation will help EPE meet the 2022-2023 summer peak season and replace less efficient gas-fired generation as older units are retired.
Alex Pugh, Hecate's manager of development, said: “We are very pleased to be working with El Paso Electric to supply clean, emission-free electricity to power the increasingly electrified lives of EPE customers for decades to come.”
EPE's interim CEO Adrian J. Rodriguez added: “Over the last year we have continued seeing growth in our customer base by approximately 7,000. Additionally, because of falling renewable energy prices, and changing customer expectations on how they receive their energy, we are able to offer more sustainable solutions. Today's announcement further underscores our responsibility to both increase and enhance our power generation capability while simultaneously meeting our regional customers changing needs in a safe, clean, reliable, and cost-effective manner.”
Once completed, the Santa Teresa solar project is projected to supply enough electricity to power approximately 40,000 homes with emission-free electricity.