Solar facility open house shows revised project plan

A planned solar and battery energy production facility was the topic of an open house for nearby property owners on Wednesday evening.

Project representatives for the Coyote Willow Energy Park, a 250 megawatt solar energy generator and 125 megawatt battery energy storage system facility, stood at tables containing information about the project, such as explanations about solar energy and how electricity generated this way is collected and stored.

They also fielded questions asked by property owners about the potential effect on wildlife and plants, what resources are necessary for its operation, the characteristics of the location, what would occur at the site and how this type of land use could affect the area.

This project has been reconfigured since planning and zoning officials put aside the proposal after the request for a special-use permit was withdrawn by the developers. 

“There was public opposition to this project,” said a statement from the county about the public meeting held in July 2025.

Coyote Willow was first planned for construction in Chaves County, north of Roswell, within the Extraterritorial Zone. This area in the county, just outside of Roswell’s borders, has a separate vetting process for certain planning and zoning matters. Both the county and city have representatives on a joint advisory commission. There is also an authority group of local elected officials, mostly from both locations, that oversees land development, zoning ordinances and subdivision regulations within this shared jurisdiction.

A sitemap of the revised project area being handed out on Wednesday also contained an explanation about what has recently transpired with this project: “Over the past several months, we’ve been out in the community listening to feedback. Based on those conversations, we made significant changes to the project site.” 

The sitemap also notes that this layout avoids certain areas included in the original plan reflect “the input we received and our commitment to designing a project that works better for the community.”

The facility would feed power to an existing nearby substation that supplies electricity to Xcel Energy. Within a more compact area, it would no longer cross East Pine Lodge Road and run along a shorter span of Railroad Lane. The sitemap handout features the original and revised versions, side by side. Among other documents made available to residents was information about solar energy and how the solar panels capture light and convert it into usable energy.

The work of Energy Renewal Partners, a project consultant hired to ensure that the development and construction of the energy park adhere to environmental regulations through on-site evaluations and studies, was also put into writing. 

However, several of the nearby property owners who accepted invitations to the project’s open house said they still have concerns about the facility being located in their neighborhood.

One resident, Steve Edington, explained that while he’s relieved his own property is no longer within the site plan, he intends to be “standing with my neighbors about this. They were going to circle me.”

The general area is also home to plenty of wildlife, including deer, antelope and rabbits. Edington said the development might prove harmful to local wildlife. Seeing those animals is highly enjoyable to him and his family, he said.

Another person at the open house expressed annoyance over the people who were working at the event because they didn’t wear badges or other visible identification.

“It’s not going to benefit residents,” said Chris Spear, who also stated that the project’s new layout likely wouldn’t matter because it would still generally impact the surrounding area.

Some property owners who were there said the use of registered mail resulted in some residents not knowing about the meeting. A couple of them said aloud that perhaps it was done on purpose. Some were also suspicious about the meeting being held in a location on the Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell campus, several miles away from the project site. 

People involved with the development said they welcomed the public and that they were following the rules. 

The developers stressed that the project would generate more than $19 million in property taxes over 35 years. They plan to start operating the facility in 2028. 

No applications or permit requests have been submitted to Chaves County for this project, said Louis Jaramillo, the county’s planning and zoning director. He also said the more formal delivery that requires the recipients to sign a document was likely used to show that the invitations to the open house went where they were supposed to go. 

Jaramillo also noted that the county is still working with developers of Coyote Willow and those involved with a much larger project that would have 1,265 megawatts of solar energy production, 250 acres of battery energy storage and a 300-acre data center that was approved for a special use permit this past August by county commissioners on West Pearson Road near Lake Arthur.