Guzman Energy is developing an 80-MW solar project approximately 3.5 miles southeast of Delta, Colorado.
Delta-Montrose Electric Association (DMEA) will directly purchase a portion of the energy produced by the plant and Guzman Energy will offtake the rest. This is the first local renewable energy project developed in partnership with Guzman Energy since DMEA exited its power supply agreement with Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association in July 2020.
“When we started serving DMEA, we made a commitment to building local solar. The Garnet Mesa solar project, which will serve DMEA and other Guzman loads, demonstrates our promise to our customers,” said Chris Riley, Guzman Energy CEO. “We will continue to tailor power solutions for our customers, leveraging both owned and contracted energy sources, to provide the communities we serve with affordable and reliable power.”
The project is in the study phase for interconnection and the Delta County permitting process has been initiated. The construction period is expected to last 11 months, with a commercial operation date expected in early 2023.
Garnet Mesa is expected to create 350 to 400 construction jobs, generate property taxes of $10 million over 35 years and cover approximately 20% of DMEA’s local power generation.
“We are very excited about this project. When we transitioned to Guzman Energy as our power supplier, we had three primary goals: rate stabilization, increased local renewable generation and local control. The Garnet Mesa Solar project helps us achieve all three,” said Virginia Harman, DMEA’s acting CEO.
