Expanding Solar Power in the West

New Mexico and Colorado rank among the six sunniest states in the nation, and are where Tri-State is ramping up solar energy production. Tri-State will add five solar projects totaling 595 megawatts to the grid for its members in 2024 and 2025. In 2025, 50% of the energy Tri-State's member use will come from renewable resources.  

Escalante Solar Project 

The Escalante Solar project in New Mexico will more than double the solar capacity in Tri-State’s resource portfolio when the power plant comes online in the Spring of 2024. The 200-megawatt solar project is on the site of the Escalante Generating Station, which was a coal-powered plant Tri-State retired in 2020. Notably, the project is in the service territory of Tri-State member Continental Divide Electric Cooperative.  

A panel-signing event for Escalante Solar took place in early November 2023 at the project near Grants, N.M. Representatives of Tri-State and our member systems joined Origis Energy and Gridworks representatives and local community leaders at the event that marked the halfway point of construction.

Tri-State has a power purchase agreement with Origis Energy for the full electric output from Escalante Solar. Origis Energy is the owner of the Escalante Solar Project, and Gridworks is installing the project’s 500,000 solar panels, which will power the equivalent of 50,000 homes.  

Tri-State and its members’ purchase of power from Escalante Solar drives investment in the local community. Escalante Solar will add a new tax base to McKinley County, N.M., paying approximately $7,100,000 in taxes to the county and $2,400,000 in taxes to the school district. 

Spanish Peaks Solar  

In southern Colorado, two more solar projects are under construction. The Spanish Peaks and Spanish Peaks II projects combine for 140 megawatts of clean energy for Tri-State’s members. These projects are located in Las Animas County in the service territory of San Isabel Electric Association. 

Deriva Energy, a Charlotte-based independent renewable generation developer, owner and operator, recently announced the start of construction of the projects. Deriva Energy is partnering with JUWI Inc., which is responsible for the engineering, procurement and construction of the project. The project is expected to come online in the fourth quarter of 2024.     

“Tri-State’s members will benefit from clean, low-cost solar power, including the 140-MW Spanish Peaks Solar Project,” said Duane Highley, Tri-State CEO. “We greatly value the teams at Deriva Energy and JUWI as they help support our mission to deliver reliable, affordable and responsible power.”   

Renewable Energy Growth Through Two Tri-State-Owned Solar Projects 

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission has approved applications for Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity for Tri-State to build, own and operate its first-ever directly owned renewable energy projects. 

The two solar projects, totaling 255 megawatts, are under development in Western Colorado, and are located in Tri-State members’ service territories:   

• Dolores Canyon Solar in Dolores County, Colo., will produce 110 megawatts in 2025, in the service territory of Empire Electric Association; and  

• Axial Basin Solar in Moffat County, Colo., will produce 145 megawatts in 2025, in the service territory of White River Electric Association. Notably, the Axial Basin Solar Project is near the Colowyo Mine, which will end production near the end of the decade, with reclamation continuing into 2032. 

New cooperative provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act include “direct pay” tax credits, which put cooperatives like Tri-State on more of an equal footing to own and operate their own renewable energy facilities, similar to investor-owned utilities and for-profit project developers.  

Together with production from wind energy, Tri-State will deliver over 2 gigawatts of renewable energy to members in 2025.  

“The recent growth of Tri-State’s solar portfolio to similar levels as our wind and hydro resources is impressive. I’m proud of Tri-State’s ongoing investment in resources that will support our mission of providing reliable, affordable and responsible power supply to our members,” said Tri-State Vice President of Energy Resources Susan Hunter. 

Existing Tri-State Solar Interests 

Tri-State’s established solar projects include 85 megawatts in its members’ service territories and include the following: 

• Cimarron Solar in Colfax County, N.M., a 30-megawatt project in the service territory of Springer Electric Cooperative that began producing power in 2010; 

• San Isabel Solar in Las Animas County, Colo., a 30-megawatt project in the service territory of San Isabel Electric Association that began producing power in 2016; and 

• Alta Luna Solar in Luna County, N.M., a 25-megawatt project in the service territory of Columbus Electric Cooperative that began producing power in 2017. 

Resource Plan Further Advances Solar 

Tri-State filed its 2023 Electric Resource Plan (ERP) with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission on Dec. 1, 2023. Tri-State’s long-term strategy is detailed in its preferred plan of this filing. The preferred plan demonstrates how rural electricity consumers of Tri-State’s members across four western states will benefit from reliable power and lower costs, with clean energy investment and greenhouse gas emissions reductions.  

Tri-State has proposed as its preferred plan an Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) scenario that would be supported by funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Empowering Rural America (New ERA) program, in addition to the direct payment of tax credits to Tri-State.  

“Our ambitious plan, with federal funding, can accelerate clean energy investment and significant greenhouse gas emissions reductions at a lower cost than alternative scenarios, all while exceeding both industry-standard and heightened extreme weather reliability criteria,” said Highley. “We are clearly demonstrating how Tri-State remains the most reliable, affordable and responsible power supplier for our members both now and well into the future.”  

Tri-State’s preferred plan identifies the addition of 1,250 megawatts of new renewable energy resources and energy storage through 2031, including 240 megawatts of additional solar resources. 

In 2025, Tri-State expects 50% of the power used by its members’ consumers across four states will come from clean energy and by 2030, that number is expected to grow to 70%.  

As we look to the future, Tri-State will continue to meet the needs of members with more renewable energy. Solar energy adds to the cooperative’s diverse portfolio of clean energy, which includes wind power and hydropower. Tri-State is committed to providing clean energy at low cost to all members. 

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About Tri-State

Tri-State is a power supply cooperative, operating on a not-for-profit basis, serving electric distribution cooperatives and public power district member-owners in four states. Together with our members, we deliver reliable, affordable and responsible power to more than a million electricity consumers across nearly 200,000 square miles of the West. Visit www.tristate.coop.