ENERGY
DESRI plans to start construction on the West Side development later this year
The Bernalillo County Commission approved $1.2 billion in industrial revenue bonds for a solar energy and battery storage project on Albuquerque’s West Side. 
The project is in an area known as Estrella, west of Atrisco Vista Boulevard and north of Interstate 40. The energy facility will be built on roughly 3,000 acres. The company plans to build approximately 400 megawatts worth of solar panels and 400 megawatts of battery storage capacity at the site. 
New York renewable energy developer DESRI will construct the project. The company did not return a request for comment. 
County documents say construction on the first phase of the project will begin in the fourth quarter of this year. The project will be built in two phases. Operations are scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2028. 
The amount of the IRBs is on par with the company’s expected private investment. Such bonds do not mean that the county or its taxpayers will pay that amount to the company. Rather, the company will receive abatements from personal property taxes and gross receipts. 
The company is getting an approximately 70% abatement on county taxes, Barbara Baca, who sponsored the tax incentive package, said at a county meeting on Tuesday. DESRI will contribute up to $2.9 million in community benefits over five years, Baca said. The Economic Development Community Advisory Board will decide what those benefits will be.
“We’re talking about a private investment of $1.2 billion on the far northwest mesa,” Baca said, noting the project’s economic impact.
Community benefit payments for the second phase, set to begin construction late next year, are yet to be determined. 
Owen Hurd, senior director of development for DESRI, told the commission Thursday that the company will expand an existing wildlife corridor near the project — which will be protected by a “wildlife-friendly” fence that will reduce harm to animals. 
“One of the things we heard loud and clear from those discussions is how to avoid negative impacts of wildlife in the area,” Hurd said, referring to community meetings.
The project will sell power to a utility purchaser, such as Public Service Company of New Mexico, according to a commission agenda packet, but no deal has been finalized because negotiations are ongoing. The state Public Regulation Commission approved a permit for the project to connect to the grid via an 11-mile, 345-kilovolt transmission line.
The county says the project will create 1,622 direct and indirect construction jobs. The project will create six full-time jobs with median salaries of $101,920. 
DESRI has built more than 500 megawatts of solar and battery projects in the state. Recently, DESRI partnered with Tierra Adentro Growth Capital on two projects in northwestern New Mexico, where it will help construct 270 megawatts of solar energy and 180 megawatts of battery storage.
Justin Horwath covers tech and energy at the Journal. You can reach him at jhorwath@abqjournal.com.
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