Chevron breaks ground on NM solar plant

Chevron Corp. has broken ground on what it said will become the largest concentrated solar photovoltaic installation in the country. The facility will be on the tailing site of Chevron Mining Inc.’s molybdenum mine in Questa. The plant was lauded by The Wilderness Society, one the advocacy groups pushing for renewable energy development on brownfields (abandoned or underused industrial facilities where some level of contamination is present). The facility will have about 175 solar panels on 20 acres producing one megawatt, and the electricity will be sold to Kit Carson Electric Cooperative through a power purchase agreement. Generally, one megawatt can provide power for about 700 average New Mexico homes. The mine has operated under various owners since the 1920s, including a period of open pit mining from 1965 until 1983. Waste rock, tailings, runoff and leachate contaminants have been designated for cleanup under the federal Superfund program. Some of the mining-impacted areas are in the process of remediation. Other areas are slated for cleanup at the end of mining operations...more