ALAMOSA — A very large solar project called Spud Valley Energy Center is making its way through the process at Alamosa County that, they hope, will result in the greenlight for construction to begin.

The parent company of the project is NextEra Energy, the world's largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun, a world leader in energy storage and the leading providers of energy infrastructure in the country with projects in 44 states as well as four provinces in Canada. NextEra works with a diversity of energy sources, including solar, wind, battery storage plus some sites for nuclear energy and natural gas.

“The company in total operates about 33 gigawatts,” says Amanda Paez, NextEra Communications Specialist.

When asked to translate 33 Gigawatts into everyday terms, Evan Reimondo, the Durango based manager in charge of the Spud Valley project, hesitates and then smiles. “It’s big.”

Spud Valley Energy Center will also be big, just on a different scale. In fact, it’s by far the largest solar project in the San Luis Valley to date. With plans to build in three phases consisting of 200 megawatts each over a period of several years, Spud Valley will  ultimately generate a total of 600 megawatts of solar energy and, in a totally separate system, 600 megawatts of solar power stored in batteries.

For context, Reimondo says 200 megawatts of solar energy can power about 40,000 homes.

Currently, the company has obtained 2500 acres of land in Alamosa County located west of Highway 17 and north of Stanley Road in Subdistrict No. 1. Reimondo says the landowners they have been negotiating with had taken their land out of production and sold their water rights as part of an overall concerted effort by the Rio Grande Water Conservation District to replenish the unconfined aquifer.

Reimondo, who is also a farmer, is well aware of just how important those efforts are and says the Spud Valley project fits well into that plan by providing a way for the land to continue to produce revenue for the landowner without needing access to water.

There are also other ways the project benefits the county, as a whole.

It’s estimated there will be 270 new job opportunities during construction of the project. With Spud Valley being roughly a $531 million investment, there will be support of the local economy through increased spending for local goods and services.

NextEra also plans to make charitable contributions to local organizations, and the project supports local quality of life standards by creating no water pollution, no air pollution and no use of water in power generation.

Finally, construction of the project will generate millions of dollars in additional tax revenue for Alamosa County.

Despite renewable energy being the fastest growing sector in the global energy industry, concerns still remain about the impact a large solar project may have on the surrounding areas where they’re built.

With that in mind, the Valley Courier asked about two concerns that have been mentioned, including blowing dirt and dust from construction settling on nearby land that is still in production and obstruction of the view of the mountains by solar panels that are large and imposing.

“Water will be used for dust suppression during construction in compliance with state air quality standards and county permit requirements,” Paez says, “and the smaller battery and substation areas will be lightly graded and graveled to control dust and weeds.”

When asked about longer term mitigation efforts, Paez said, “NextEra Energy Resources will also be responsible for revegetating the site after construction and will coordinate with the local NRCS office to determine appropriate seed mixes. Ground disturbance will be minimal because the panels use driven steel piles rather than excavation.”

Reimondo addressed the concerns about tall panels obstructing the view. “These aren’t the huge panels that people usually imagine. They’re smaller and rotate on an axis to follow the sun. At their ‘peak’ when they’re straight up and down, they stand only fourteen feet tall.”

That is less than the height of a one story home.

Reimondo also emphasized that the panels are only at that height as they follow the sun; otherwise, their profile is not nearly as tall, preventing them from obstructing anyone’s view.

In speaking with Paez and Reimondo, it’s apparent that they are attempting to work closely with the county. When asked if that was an accurate read, Roni Wisdom, executive assistant to the commissioners, confirmed it was. “Alamosa County is one of the only counties in the state that has included a solar overlay in our Comprehensive Plan, and, so far, it looks like the Spud Valley project is in line.” For example, the project is located within one of the county’s energy opportunity areas identified in the plan. Wisdom goes on to add, “They’re very serious about getting this done.”

Just to clarify, the Spud Valley project is generating solar power. They are not involved in the transmission lines that would export that power to other communities and are aware the Valley has “some transmission problems”. Reimondo says they would like to see transmission lines in the Valley that support local communities but that’s outside their purview.

So, right now, they’re working with customers to see who is interested in buying the power they will generate, and Reimondo says they have had conservations with Rural Electric and Public Service and anticipate having other conversations going forward.

If all goes to plan, beginning with completing the necessary steps for the county to approve the project, construction of the first phase will begin sometime in 2027 with operations expected to begin in 2018.

Prior to that, Paez says, they will be hosting an open house to explain the project in better detail and answer directly any questions people may have.