Watch video At 30 MW, Cimarron will be the one of the nation's largest PV solar facilities.

At a Glance Colorado-based Tri-State Generation& Transmission Association provides electric power to 44 electric cooperatives and 1.4 million consumers in Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico and Wyoming. Cimarron I is located on Ted Turner’s Vermejo Park Ranch near Cimarron, New Mexico. PV power plants don’t create air or water pollutants. Cimarron I will generate electricity with minimal environmental impact using a renewable resource, sunlight. First Solar of Tempe, Arizona, will start building the project in 2010, employing 120 to 140 workers until it is finished by the end of the year. The co-op expects it to begin generating electricity by August, 2010. When the panels wear out, they will also be recycled using First Solar’s pioneering technologies, further reducing the environmental impact of this power plant.

Tri-State Generation and Transmission Cooperative is partnering with First Solar, a Tempe, Arizona photovoltaics manufacturer, to build Cimarron I, the largest cooperative-owned photovoltaic (PV) project in the world and one of the largest solar facilities in the U.S.

Located in the high plains of northeastern New Mexico, the project will include 500,000 solar panels spread over almost one square mile next to Highway 58 and Interstate 25. When completed late in 2010, the 2‘x4’ photovoltaic panels will generate up to 30 megawatts of electricity, enough for a town with 9,000 homes. Tri-State, a Colorado-based power producer, will deliver the power to its 44 electric co-op members across Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico and Wyoming. The local co-ops serve more than 1.4 million members in one of the fastest growing areas of the West.

Solar panels convert sunlight into electrical power through the photoelectric effect, a process that occurs in atoms that react to sunlight by releasing electrons. Some atoms, like silicon, are especially sensitive to sunlight and they release large quantities of electrons. These electrons can be captured as electricity to power consumers’ homes. Most people are familiar with rooftop panels; the Cimarron project harnesses a half-million similar panels to create enough power to place on the regional power grid.

It’s part of the continuing effort by co-ops to add renewable and alternative energy sources to the power mix they provide their members. In this case, “Tri-State is committed to renewable energy in our resource planning that brings value to our member cooperatives across the four states we serve,” according to Tri-State general manager and executive vice president Ken Anderson. “It’s noteworthy that Tri-State’s first utility-scale renewable energy project will be among the largest solar photovoltaic projects in the world.”

Tri-State believes this project shows how electric cooperatives can lead the nation in renewable energy programs. Ken Anderson, Tri-State executive vice president and general manager says, “Our partnership with First Solar further diversifies our resource mix and brings value to our member cooperatives across our four-state service territory. This project in New Mexico demonstrates how electric cooperatives can effectively bring utility-scale solar projects to the rural areas they serve.”