By Joe Cardillo, Reporter for Albuquerque Business First:

Duke Energy's renewables division, which operates 18 wind farms and 43 solar farms in 13 states, has started construction on its first project in New Mexico.

The Caprock Solar Power Project, located near Tucumcari in Quay County, is a 25-megawatt installation that’s expected to be completed later this year, and provide power to the Western Farmers Electric Cooperative (WFEC) under a 25-year agreement.

"We are pleased to bring this solar project to New Mexico and add the state to our growing U.S. renewables footprint," said Greg Wolf, president, Duke Energy Commercial Portfolio.

Tammie McGee, a spokesperson for Duke Energy, says when the company is considering a project, it's looking for both resources and demand from customers — whether that comes from some kind of renewable energy mandate or simply because they believe in it. Duke wants to know, McGee says, “Are customers already looking for renewable energy in the region?”

“First and foremost the resources have to be robust,” said McGee. “New Mexico is a great solar resource ... that includes things like, is there land available, is transmission robust, can we tie into a substation, can we get land leased from landowners who are willing to do so.”

Brian Hobbs, vice president of legal and corporate services for Western Farmers Electric Cooperative, says this is the first time the company's added solar to its electricity generation portfolio.

"The costs of installing solar have dramatically decreased in the past few years, and are much closer to competing with more traditional forms of generation," said Hobbs. "Coupled with other benefits, such as no ongoing fuel costs and decreased emissions, we felt the timing was right to introduce solar into our generation mix.” Click here to read the full article.