Caprock Wind Farm owner plans solar plant

link Infigen, an Australian company, plans to install solar power generation plant next to its Caprock Wind Farm near San Jon.

QCS Managing Editor

The owner of San Jon’s Caprock Wind Farm plans to add some solar generating units to the wind energy complex, starting some time in 2016.

A representative of Infigen, the Australian company that owns the Caprock Wind Farm, and a bond attorney, on Monday requested authorization from the Quay County Commission to seek industrial revenue bonds for the project. The commission unanimously granted the authorization.

The industrial revenue bonds exempt a company from property taxes for up to 20 years, according to state documents. During the bond period, the company leases the land from the county, then purchases it for a small amount at the end of the period.

While the county issues the bonds, it does not provide any funds, Daniel Alsup, the bond attorney, said. The bonds are funded by investors, and repayment is up to Infigen, which receives a tax break during construction, he said.

David Savage, an Infogen senior business development specialist, said the project should eventually develop about 55 megawatts of solar energy, but its first phase will be a 25-megawatt block. A megawatt is enough power to energize up to 1,000 households at any given time. The Caprock Wind Farm, he said, currently can generate up to 80 megawatts.

Savage estimated construction costs of the project at $33 million.

Savage said Infigen has not signed contracts for sale of the solar project’s power, but that several utilities have expressed interest. The wind farm, he said, sells electricity to Southwest Public Service, the Xcel Energy subsidiary that provides power to the Tucumcari area, and to the Southwest Power Pool, which distributes wholesale electricity to utilities in nine states, including New Mexico.

The solar project is expected to create about 300 jobs during its construction and maintain four employees full-time to manage the facility upon completion, Savage said.

The authorizing resolution the commission passed on Monday will lead to an ordinance when the bond is ready to be offered.

Construction could start as early as the first quarter of 2016, Savage said.