Navajo Chapter Plans Largest Utility-Scale Solar Farm on Tribal Land

Last edited Tue May 1, 2012, 08:50 PM - Edit history (1)

The To’Hajiilee Navajo Chapter plans to establish a solar array farm on its trust lands, a flat stretch of prairie in central New Mexico where land preparation for the project is minimal, reported the Associated Press.

A 115-kilovolt power line already runs through the trust land site, leading to Albuquerque just 21 miles away, according to a presentation by Rob Burpo, president of First American Financial Advisors, Inc., based in Albuquerque, one of the consulting groups working with the To’Hajiilee. With no upgrades to the line required, energy transmission would be cost efficient.

Once a power purchase agreement is solidified, construction of the solar photovoltaic arrays could take as little as nine months. “I think if we’re able to find a power buyer fairly quickly, we certainly ought to be breaking ground this fall. That’s our goal,” Burpo told the AP.

The project planned for the sun-drenched dusty land has been dubbed Shandiin Solar, the Navajo name for sunlight. The solar photovoltaic plant will share the $6.5 million recently awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Tribal Energy Program to 19 projects to propel renewable energy development on tribal lands.

If realized, Shandiin Solar will be the largest utility-scale solar photovoltaic array in the U.S. on tribal land, Doug MacCourt, a partner at the Portland, Oregon-based Ater Wynne LLP who helps tribal communities such as To’Hajiilee generate and transmit energy, told the AP.

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/04/27/navajo-chapter-plans-largest-utility-scale-solar-farm-on-tribal-land-110447#ixzz1tNBJ1MLwictmn.com


Sacred ground? Citing significant views, tribe pushes back against solar plant
By JESSICA TESTA Cronkite News Service | Posted: Tuesday, May 1, 2012 2:03 pm

http://m.gvnews.com/mobile/state/sacred-ground-citing-significant-views-tribe-pushes-back-against-solar/article_1a119ef2-93d1-11e1-962c-0019bb2963f4.html