Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, which supplies electricity to rural electric cooperatives, is expanding its renewable energy footprint with a 25-year contract on a solar farm near Trinidad.
Westminster-based Tri-State announced Tuesday it will purchase the entire output of the 30-megawatt San Isabel Solar Project over the next quarter-century.
Juwi Inc., a Germany-based renewable energy company with U.S. headquarters in Boulder, will develop the facility, which is expected to come online late in 2016.
The San Isabel Solar Project will consist of more than 100,000 solar panels over 250 acres, 20 miles north of Trinidad, according to a news release.
The project is in the service area of the San Isabel Electric Association, a Tri-State member that crosses seven counties in southern Colorado, according to the release.
This is Tri-State’s second renewable energy deal this year. In June, the cooperative announced a 25-year contract for wind energy from Iberdrola Renewables’ Twin Buttes II Wind Project south of Lamar.
“We have taken a steady, deliberate approach to integrating renewable resources, and it has paid off over time as we continue to build a generation fleet that remains cost-effective for our member systems,” said Brad Nebergall, Tri-State’s senior vice president of energy management.
