Today, KCEC owns and operates 18 solar arrays throughout our service territory, totaling 18.6 MW. Did you know KCEC will exceed its 100% daytime solar goal by 2022? KCEC has two solar and battery storage projects under construction near the Taos Municipal Landfill and the Angel Fire Water Treatment Plant. These projects will provide an additional 22.5 MWs of solar energy and 16.25 MWs of battery storage to KCEC’s renewable portfolio.
KCEC’s Taos Mesa Array is approximately 80% complete and will be operational in May or June. The Taos Mesa solar project will have 15 MWs of solar energy and 12.5 MWs of battery storage, with ten 1.25 MW Tesla batteries, installed at the Taos Mesa array on March 23, 2022. The project spans roughly 170 acres and has 43,680 solar panels. The Taos Mesa project will power approximately 7,500 homes, not including battery storage.
In Angel Fire, the crews completed earthwork and move forward with underground wiring and pile driving beams for the solar tracking system. The Angel Fire project will have 7.5 MW of solar energy with 3.75 MW of battery storage. The project spans roughly 70 acres and contains 17,108 solar panels. The Angel Fire project will power approximately 3,750 homes, not including battery storage.
Once the Taos and Angel Fire projects are finished, KCEC will have 41 MW of solar and 16.25 MW of battery storage. The batteries will contain two hours of holding capacity totaling 32.5MWh. KCEC integrating additional solar and battery storage will continue to build a resilient and reliable network. These projects will provide significant renewable energy to our communities and provide rate stabilization for our members.
During the past two years of COVID and related hardships, KCEC has continued maintaining reliable and affordable electricity. I’m happy to announce that when gasoline, propane, natural gas, diesel, and other utilities continue to rise, KCEC electric bills will decrease this summer.
KCEC has been installing solar arrays since 2009. We are working with partners and communities in serviour service territory to provide a renewable future. Please see our ad on page 19 with our community and power break down showing our timeline to 100% Daytime solar production. Thank you for helping us reach our goal as we continue to move forward to a green future. Stay tuned as we continue to provide our members with updated information on EV charging stations, solar projects, and monthly electric bill decreases.
