By Marty Mayfield
KRTN Multi-Media
Juwi Energy began work a year ago on a solar site east of Aguilar in Las Animas County that is estimated to provide enough power for over 30,000 homes in the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association service area.
The project at peak saw 305 employees installing supports for the panels, running cables and installing the solar panels and hardware to move the panels as they track the sun as it moves east to west. 329,000 panels were installed for this project covering several hundred acres. The panels cover an area about a mile long by over half a mile wide.
The project is in its final days with work on wire management and finish work being performed on the substation. The panels will produce 180 megawatts direct current and that will be converted to alternating current at 39 kilovolts at 145 megawatts. The substation will up the power to 69 kilovolts to go into the High Voltage Transmission line running from Walsenburg down to Farley New Mexico.
The project is expected to be fully up and running by the end of the year providing another source of clean energy to southern Colorado and northeastern New Mexico.
