Scott Nicholas
El Paso Electric has been selected by the U.S. Air Force to support construction of a five-megawatt solar facility at the Holloman Air Force Base in Otero County, New Mexico.
EPE said Wednesday the facility will be built to generate enough clean energy to power approximately 1,700 homes annually as well as reduce HAFB’s annual carbon dioxide emissions by more than 9000 U.S. tons.
“The Air Force is committed to providing installations the support they need to determine where initiatives and technologies such as on-base solar can complement and enhance installation energy assurance plans,” said Dan Soto, renewable energy division chief at the Air Force Civil Engineer Center.
Mary Kipp, president and CEO at EPE, said the company will work to provide large scale solar capacity to help the Air Force manage energy security.
“We hope this collaboration with the Air Force, the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission and everyone involved will lead to additional projects with organizations who share our goal of fostering affordable, sustainable energy in our region,” Kipp added.
M+W Energy will also help construct the HAFB solar facility slated to be operational by the third quarter of 2018, noted EPE.
