The Cimarron Solar Facility is a 30
megawatt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after Jame ...
(
MWAC)
photovoltaic power station
A photovoltaic power station, also known as a solar park, solar farm, or solar power plant, is a large-scale grid-connected photovoltaic power system (PV system) designed for the supply of merchant power. They are different from most building ...
in
Colfax County, New Mexico
Colfax County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 13,750. Its county seat is Raton. It is south from the Colorado state line. This county was named for Schuyler Colfax (18231885), seventee ...
. It was the largest solar facility in the state when completed in December 2010, and uses
thin film
A thin film is a layer of material ranging from fractions of a nanometer ( monolayer) to several micrometers in thickness. The controlled synthesis of materials as thin films (a process referred to as deposition) is a fundamental step in many a ...
solar panel
A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a pho ...
s manufactured by the U.S. firm
First Solar
First Solar, Inc. is an American manufacturer of solar panels, and a provider of utility-scale PV power plants and supporting services that include finance, construction, maintenance and end-of-life panel recycling. First Solar uses rigid th ...
. The electricity is being sold to Tri-State Generation and Transmission under a 25-year
power purchase agreement
A power purchase agreement (PPA), or electricity power agreement, is a contract between two parties, one which generates electricity (the seller) and one which is looking to purchase electricity (the buyer). The PPA defines all of the commercial te ...
.
Electricity production
See also
*
Solar power in New Mexico
Solar power in New Mexico in 2016 generated 2.8% of the state's total electricity consumption, despite a National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) projection suggesting a potential contribution three orders of magnitude larger.
Renewable Port ...
References
External links
Cimarron Solar Facility - Fact SheetTri-State Generation and Transmission the G&T coop under contract to purchase the Cimarron energy production
{{Solar power in the United States
Energy infrastructure completed in 2010
Buildings and structures in Colfax County, New Mexico
Power stations in New Mexico
Solar power stations in New Mexico