Gallup Solar Annual Meeting July 30, 2014


AUGUST
  “Our Mission: Gallup Solar is collaborating with communities, elected representatives,
utilities and industry to bring solar power
to all peoples in our area”
Weekly Wednesday Meetings are from 6-8 p.m.
at 113 East Logan Ave., Gallup, NM
Refreshments are served
The public is welcome and all input is valued. AUGUST MEETING AGENDA

August 6, 6-8pm
"NEW ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES
ISAAC BARBOSA

August 13, 6-8pm
HOME SCHOOLING- MORE LOAD CALCULATIONS

August 20, 6-8pm
HOME SCHOOLING – BATTERY BANKS

August 27, 6-8pm
GALLUP SOLAR BOARD MEETING
 
Gallup Solar Meets

Continental Divide


Eighteen solar enthusiasts showed up at our GS meeting on July 16 to meet with and hear Continental Divide Electric Cooperative’s (CDEC) Robert Castillo, General Manager, left,and Macario "Mac" Juarez Jr., Member Services Manager, right.


Our own Richard Matzke, Electric Director, City of Gallup, and his wife, Helen, also attended

The conversation was two-tracked.
Track-one was CDEC’s service-area surrounding Gallup. CDEC tends to peak in the winter months. This past winter their peak was just under 89 MWs, experienced in December 2013.
See details of service area.

CDEC wheels all its electricity from Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association-owned generating plants, see June Gallup Solar Sun, but it could, under Tri-State regulations, self-generate up to 5% of the nearly 90 MW that the rural coop delivers to power its service area A neighboring Co-op, Kit Carson Electric Co-op is already generating its 5% limit with solar and wants more. Another co-op could potentially lease its allowance to Kit Carson.

Because we often get questions from the rural area we wanted to know the CDEC grid-tie policy. Donna Venable, CDEC Customer Service Manager, was kind enough to explain it for this newsletter.

Load Displacement Option
CDEC connects via single meter which measures only the flow of power to customer/producer and does not pay for excess power produced by the customer. Customer pays for all power consumed from the grid.

Net Metering Option  
CDEC installs an additional meter to measure separately the energy generated by the customer/producer who is paid for energy supplied above the amount consumed from the grid currently at $0.029/kWh, (avoided cost) as filed with the approved by the New Mexico Public Regulatory Commission, NMPRC. An additional customer charge to cover the added costs of billing and administration may be included.

Simultaneous Buy/Sell Option
CDEC will meter separately all the power produced and consumed by the customer/producer. CDEC purchases all power produced at its energy rate for such purchases, currently at $0.029/kWh, as filed with and approved by the NMPRC.  Customer/producer pays for all the power from the grid at retail price.
 
Track-two of our conversation was the 43 MW CDEC is now delivering to the City of Gallup. Under the terms of the eight-year contract, just signed, Gallup can generate 5% of its own electricity in the first two years of the contract and 10% in the remaining six.
Richard Matzke said that10% translates to 9MW of solar.
 
In 2008 Gallup Solar got a $50,000 capital outlay grant to look into a megawatt solar plant for McKinley County. With great diligence we identified appropriate sites with transmission capability. We met and formed bonds with land owners and potential partners: PNM, Gamerco (now Gallup Land Partners), Escalante Generating Station, Buddy Elkins, Giant, McKinley Mine, McKinley Paper (now BioPapel), Conoco Phillips, McKinley County Solid Waste Authority, the City of Gallup, the Casinos, NTUA, First Solar, Sacred Power, Emcore
and, of course, Tri-State and CDEC.

Mac even brought the presentation booklet
we had given them five years ago.
 
Gallup Solar’s mission states that we will collaborate with communities, elected representatives, utilities and industry to bring solar power to all peoples in our area.

Although our guests were not fervently pushing for solar they didn't appear to push back. Hopefully all will partner with us as we revisit the
Megawatt Quest.
 
Another Habitat

Home Goes Solar!

Photos by Rose Marie Cecchini


Solar on Habitats for Humanity is now a fait accompli, part of the package, thanks to Bill Bright’s overlap with both groups. One kilowatt of photovoltaic capacity was installed  HH Home number 5. Not only were University of New Mexico Gallup involved in every conventional aspect of construction they topped it off with solar!




AUGUST AD

IN THE GALLUP JOURNEY
For more information go to gallupsolar.org