Deutsche Bank Funds $145M Solar and Energy Storage Project under Construction in New Mexico

National Renewable Solutions (NRS), a U.S.-based renewable energy developer, owner and operator, has closed $145 million in project financing for its 140-MW solar and 50-MW storage project, the Shallow Basket Project, in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico.

The project, under construction, is expected to be operational in 2025. While Deutsche Bank provided the construction financing, Guzman Energy will purchase 100 percent of the power and associated renewable attributes, including renewable energy credits generated by the project.

The power generated by Shallow Basket solar and stored in battery will be part of Guzman Energy’s power supply portfolio serving current and future Guzman Energy wholesale customer power loads.

"The financing of Shallow Basket Project represents an exciting turning point for NRS," Bill Whitlock, CEO, National Renewable Solutions, said in a statement. "The culmination of years of planning, this solar and storage project supports our strategy of retaining our projects through operation. Thank you to Deutsche Bank for their support. We are grateful for the opportunity to grow our relationship with the Jicarilla Apache Nation as we complete construction and operate the project for the long haul."

Jicarilla Apache Nation is leasing its land for the project and will also benefit from power produced by it through its wholesale supply agreement with Guzman Energy.

"The Shallow Basket Project embodies our commitment to a sustainable future and economic self-sufficiency for the Jicarilla Apache Nation," said President Adrian Notsinneh, Jicarilla Apache Nation. "By harnessing renewable energy on our lands, we're building a legacy of environmental stewardship. We are protecting our environment and creating new opportunities for economic growth that will ensure prosperity for future generations."

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National Renewable Solutions has been owned by capital investment group BlackRock and its Real Assets--Climate Infrastructure Group since 2021.

NRS selected Albuquerque-based Gridworks as the engineering, procurement and construction provider for the project, which is expected to create 250 jobs over a 12-month construction period.

Gridworks has completed 1.9 GW in utility-scale clean energy projects nationwide, the company says. Among those EPC achievement include Escalante Solar in New Mexico, Ebony Energy Storage in San Antonio, and Ventura Energy Storage in California.

 

About the Author

Rod Walton, EnergyTech Managing Editor | Senior Editor

For EnergyTech editorial inquiries, please contact Managing Editor Rod Walton at [email protected].

Rod Walton has spent 15 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist. He formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

Walton earned his Bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. His career stops include the Moore American, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, Wagoner Tribune and Tulsa World. 

EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids. The C&I sectors together account for close to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.

He was named Managing Editor for Microgrid Knowledge and EnergyTech starting July 1, 2023

Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.