Built on tribal land leased from the Jicarilla Apache Nation, the solar-plus-storage is expected to be operational in 2025.
National Renewable Solutions, a developer specializing in renewable energy, has initiated the construction phase of a 140MW solar-plus-storage venture in the state of New Mexico in the United States.
The Shallow Basket Energy initiative is established on leased land from the Jicarilla Apache Nation and incorporates a 50MW standalone battery energy storage system (BESS).
The project is anticipated to be operational by 2025, with National Renewable Solutions as the project owner. Guzman Energy, a wholesale power provider, has committed to procuring all the power generated from the project.
As per the Jicarilla Apache Nation, the project stands as one of the most expansive renewable energy facilities on tribal land within the United States.
This marks the newest addition to the initiatives hosted by the Jicarilla Apache Nation, which already includes a 50MW solar PV plant responsible for supplying 87% of the City of Albuquerque’s power.
“Shallow Basket Energy is poised to establish a cost-effective, sustainable power source. The prospect of its location on Jicarilla Apache Nation land, bringing benefits to its residents, is particularly rewarding,” stated Christopher Miller, co-founder and CEO of Guzman Energy.
The growing alliance between tribal communities and the renewable energy sector in New Mexico has been an ongoing development. Just last year, Avangrid, the US-based subsidiary of Spanish utility Iberdrola, entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority to advance 1GW of solar PV, wind, and energy storage resources.
In the previous year, the US Department of Energy introduced a tax incentive program for solar PV and wind projects located on tribal lands as well as in low-income and “underserved” communities. Known as the Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit Program, it offers qualifying solar and wind projects with a capacity of less than 5MWac a bonus of 10 or 20 percentage points in addition to the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Annually, a total of 1.8GW of eligible capacity is authorized to receive these credits.
Furthermore, the US Bureau of Land Management, overseeing a significant portion of the nation’s landmass, including federally protected natural areas and tribal lands, has taken significant steps towards advancing multiple solar PV projects. These nine solar projects, located in Nevada and Arizona, collectively boast a remarkable PV capacity of over 6.2GW.
