Tri-State and juwi announce 100 MW Spanish Peaks Solar Project

Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association has announced the development of a new solar project in partnership with Juwi Inc.

The 100 MW Spanish Peaks Solar Project is Tri-State’s second utility-scale solar energy project with juwi, the U.S. subsidiary of Germany-based renewable energy company juwi AG. The project is adjacent to the 30 MW San Isabel Solar Project in Las Animas County, Colorado, which was developed by juwi and began producing power for Tri-State in 2016.

Tri-State, a wholesale cooperative power supplier owned by 43 member electric cooperatives and public power districts, will purchase the entire output of the project over the 15-year term of Tri-State’s power purchase contract. The 660-acre project includes more than 300,000 photovoltaic solar panels on single-axis tracking arrays to follow the sun throughout the day and serves the energy needs of 28,000 rural homes.

The Spanish Peaks Solar Project is located approximately 20 miles north of Trinidad, Colorado, within the service territory of San Isabel Electric Association (SIEA), a Tri-State member system serving all or parts of seven counties in southern Colorado. Like Tri-State, SIEA is a not-for-profit, member-owned electric cooperative. 

Construction of the Spanish Peaks Solar Project is expected to begin in 2022, supporting 150 jobs during the peak construction period. The project is anticipated to be completed in 2023.