County approves permit for data center, solar facility

Chaves County Commissioners approved the special use permit required for construction of a 1,265 megawatt utility-scale solar facility that would power a 300-acre data center and 250-acre storage system for battery energy.

This project is estimated to cost $6 billion, and will be located on the north side of the 700 and 800-block area of West Pearson Road. Zenith Volts Corp., of Cheyenne, WY, has provided a development plan for the location. It is near Lake Arthur and ends at the border between Chaves and Eddy counties on the south end.

This operation’s functions would be situated over 8,500 acres of grazing land — excluding the residence and barn of the property owner, Wade Berry.

The reason for the request is to “provide green energy to the county and state … green energy to help meet the deadline on being (a) fully green state,” according to the permit application submitted to the county by Berry.

The solar operation would be located in the northern portion of the project area, and it would be interconnected to provide electricity to the data center. The Battery Energy Storage System site would be located on the southern side of the project area. 

Energy production there requires a special use permit because it’s currently zoned as an agricultural area. The county’s Planning and Zoning staff report includes a map that depicts some sections within the location being owned by the state of New Mexico and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, for example.

“It will take approximately 633,000 commercial solar panels covering over 6,000 acres of land to produce 1.265 GW (1,265 MW) of energy,” the county’s staff report also states.

“The permit should be limited to ‘X’ number of acres,” because neither the start nor the site of initial construction have been determined, said Commissioner Hub Corn.

County staff explained in a revised report that they reached this estimate with the knowledge that one commercial solar panel provides about 2 kilowatts an hour. The efficiency of the panels ranges between 10% and 20%. Also estimated by the county is how much energy the data centers would require. During the day, that’s about 632 megawatts. More than 600 data centers would be spread out within approximately 30 acres.

Except for representatives from the EVC and Berry, no one else has spoken in favor of the project.

One neighbor asked to speak against the project but told the commissioners, “I’m not totally against it; I’m not totally for it. I just want more transparency.”

Then the man asked whether this type of operation would be affected by hail, and how wildlife, temperature and other weather conditions might impact what would occur there.  

Accompanying the staff report revision was a new map. The speaker wondered why he couldn’t find his property on that one. He showed it to some of the commissioners. 

County Manager Bill Williams watched the group as they talked about the map and even asked if the commissioners wanted to postpone the matter for further staff work. However, Louis Jaramillo, the county’s planning and zoning director, explained that the new map didn’t change the area shown but highlighted different sections of the project and the surrounding area.

Berry said they hoped the commissioners would approve the special use permit because having that aspect secured would make financing the project somewhat easier.

“You can’t sell anybody on something that’s not real,” Berry said. “We need the special use permit.” 

Central Valley Electric Cooperative Inc., (CVE), the energy provider for the general area in which the project is proposed, stated in written correspondence that they wouldn’t be providing energy or use of their power lines to the proposed facility. 

“CVE currently doesn’t have suitable electric transmission line infrastructure or sufficient power capacity to serve the facility’s primary or standby power needs,” wrote Ransom Spencer, EVC’s manager of distribution engineering. 

This is why the project will have its own energy source.

Financing is among the 17 conditions of county approval. Nick Coleman, project manager, said there would be no construction within the designated floodways and restricted floodplains as well as not having the panels more than 15 feet from the natural ground, among the various other conditions and commitments, such as breaking ground in two years.  

EVC also estimates the operation will employ nearly 140 full-time employees and provide the southwest with a “renewable energy technology hub” and could make Chaves County “a destination for major infrastructure and energy-sector investment.” 

Commissioner Richard Taylor was the lone vote against providing a special use permit for the project, and emphasized there was a time limit on the project.