Today, Commissioner Aubrey Dunn announced that he will open sealed bids April 22 at the New Mexico State Land Office in Santa Fe for solar power array projects on state trust lands in Doña Ana and Otero counties. Advertisements for the bids will begin Feb. 6 and run for 10 weeks, during which time bidders will need to submit applications in order to qualify.
Auctions, originally set by the former administration for these solar projects, were postponed in January to allow Commissioner Dunn time to ensure beneficiaries of the state land trust were protected in the process. The two projects include a 50-megawatt solar array located on 640 acres of state trust land in Doña Ana County, some 6.4 miles west of Santa Teresa; and a second array expected to be the largest on state trust land, generating 150 megawatts of electricity. This development is to be located on 2,770 acres in Otero County.
“Following a full evaluation of the mineral estate that is now complete on the two parcels, I now feel comfortable going to bid with them,” said Commissioner Aubrey Dunn. “I look forward to working with these companies and seeing these projects become a reality on state trust land for beneficiaries far into the future. Both clean-energy projects promise to boost local economies with hundreds of jobs during the construction phase, and once finished, the projects will supply revenue for our schools, universities, hospitals and other beneficiaries for years to come.”
The Otero County solar power array is expected to be three times as large as the state’s largest existing solar array at Macho Springs in Luna County, also located on state trust land. Once finished, the project promises to generate enough energy to power more than 54,000 average homes. The Doña Ana County array is expected to power more than 18,000 average homes once completed. Both could potentially provide hundreds of jobs during the construction phase.
To qualify to bid, applications and required deposits must be received no later than 4 p.m. April 17 at the State Land Office, 310 Old Santa Fe Trail, Santa Fe, NM 87504. For more information about the lease process, visit the New Mexico State Land Office website at www.nmstatelands.org, or contact the Commercial Resources Division at 505-827-3827 or cjohnson@slo.state.nm.us.
The State Land Office is responsible for administering 9 million acres of surface and 13 million acres of subsurface estate for the beneficiaries of the state land trust, which includes schools, universities, hospitals and other important public institutions.