Spring Break
Utility breaks ground on sprawling new solar plant in Colorado
The Associated Press
Issue date: 4/24/07 Section: News
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The 8-megawatt photovoltaic plant in the San Luis Valley about 130 miles south of Denver will be the largest solar plant for civilian use in the country, backers said.
"The energy generated from this facility will be clean and prevent harmful carbon emissions from entering the atmosphere," Gov. Bill Ritter said.
Ritter said the solar plant in the sunny, wide-open San Luis Valley was another step toward his campaign goal of making Colorado the renewable energy capital of the nation.
Speaking under a tent that was flapping and creaking in the wind, Ritter joked that a wind farm should be the next project for the valley.
The plant is being built by SunEdison which will sell the power to Xcel. Electricity from the 82-acre plant will be used by the Minneapolis-based utility's southern Colorado customers. Karen Hyde, a managing director for resource planning for Xcel, said the plant will help reduce the amount of power generated from coal-powered and natural gas plants elsewhere in the state.
Two other companies are also looking at building even larger plants in the valley, said Tom Plant, of the Ritter's energy office. Next month work will begin on a wind farm in Logan County in northeastern Colorado.
Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., who also attended the groundbreaking, said the nation's commitment to renewable energy is stronger now than it was in the 1970s and 80s, due to concern for the environment and national security. He said that's good for the San Luis Valley, where he grew up.
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