Year: 2022
Standard: Green-e
Impact: Electrical production of MWh/year
Beneficiaries: Cortez Solar 1, LLC
A OneEnergy project developer remarked that “many locals say there is so much sun in Cortez and they don’t understand why there aren’t more solar projects.” Empire Electric Association, Inc. (EEA), the rural electric cooperative that will be buying the electricity from the project as well as providing the land for it, has been trying to get a solar project built in their territory since 2017. The Project will be located on EEA-owned land originally purchased over 50 years ago in the hopes of building a coal-fired power plant. It has remained vacant since. Now, EEA, along with its surrounding community of customers from southwest Colorado and southeast Utah including Cortez, Dolores, Mancos, Dove Creek, Towaco and Monticello, as well as much of the traditional lands of the Mountain Ute Mountain Tribe, will get their first solar project and save money for members.
Totten is the newest member of our New Renewables Portfolio. The Portfolio’s purpose is to enable Renewable Energy Credit (REC) buyers to play a causal role in actualizing new renewable energy projects. On behalf of Portfolio investors, Native has committed to a 10-year renewables purchase agreement. Without this type of long-term REC purchasing agreement, the project would not be economically feasible.
Impacts & Benefits
The project is a 2.5 MW solar photovoltaic array that expects to produce and add 5,900 MWh/year of clean, affordable solar energy to the grid. This project allows a rural electric cooperative, EEA, to establish their first source of distributed solar energy.
Project Participants
Totten, a wholly-owned subsidiary of OneEnergy Development, LLC, is the owner and operator. OneEnergy Development, LLC developed the project.
Validation & Verification
The project was determined to meet the additionality requirements of the Verified Carbon Standard by a VCS accredited validator. REC sales from the project are annually audited by a third party, under the Center for Resource Solutions Green-e Program.
How to get involved
To learn more about this project, or how your organization can get involved, send us a note. We look forward to discussing ways we can work together to catalyze climate action.
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