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Pueblo of Jemez Renewable Energy Projects
A Presentation to the EPA Region VI SummitDecember 3, 2009
Tammy Belone, Steve Blodgett & Greg KaufmanPueblo of Jemez
Department of Resource Protection575-834-7696
Our Presentation
• Air Sampling at 8,500 feet – Tammy Belone
• Solar Project Update – Greg Kaufman
• Geothermal Resource Exploration Project – Steve Blodgett
The Pueblo of Jemez• Federally-recognized Tribe• 45 Miles NW of Albuquerque, NM• 2,200 Tribal members in village of Walatowa;
3,000 Tribal members total.• Only Towa-speaking Tribe. Very Traditional.• Has a unique K-12 charter school system
emphasizing science and math for college prep.
• Not a gaming Tribe• Has occupied the Jemez Valley for over 800
years.
Jemez Ancestral Domain and Current Trust Lands
Valles Caldera National Preserve
• Located in the Jemez Mtns.
• Elevation – 8,500 ft.• Huge meadows,
abundant wildlife, beautiful scenery.
• VCNP committed to providing opportunities for scientific research.
Jemez Mercury Deposition Site
• Wet Deposition – operating since April.
• Weekly sample collection.
• Measures mercury in precipitation.
Mercury Dry Deposition
• Began sampling in August.
• Frontier Atmospheric Dry Deposition (FADD) system.
• Filter absorbs Reactive Gaseous Mercury.
• Mercury transported over long distances.
• In 2007, highest total mercury concentrations were found at AZ 02 (1st year).
• Second highest was NM 10, then CO 99.
• In 2008, highest total mercury concentrations were found at AZ 02.
• Second highest was CO 99, then NM 10.
Mercury in the Southwest
Environmental Monitoring at 8,500 Feet
Sampling Obstacles
Anyone care to join us?
Solar Projects at Jemez
Jemez Library – 2.8 kW
Orchard Well Pump – 400 watts
Both projects installed by Sacred Power of Albuquerque, a Native-owned solar manufacturer and installer.
New Jemez 4 MW Solar Project In a Nutshell…
• Generate 4 MW of solar power using highly reliable single axis flat plate PV on 30 acres of tribal trust land.
• Interconnect with Jemez Mountains Electrical Cooperative system at existing 69kV transmission line at site.
• Sell the power and Renewable Energy Credits to the Los Alamos County Utilities/DOE Power Pool or the Jemez Mountains Electrical Cooperative.
• Revenue from power/REC sales go to Pueblo for much needed infrastructure improvements and community services.
• Single-Axis, Flat Plate Solar Arrays– 30 year track record, highly reliable, easily maintained.– Remains efficient on cloudy days.– Lighter weight means better choice for mixed soil conditions.– 30-year service life.
Conceptual Site Plan – 30 acres
Looking northeast from atop the mesita across main portion of solar site.
1. Identify site and suitable renewable technology.
2. Identify transmission interconnection point.
3. Identify potential power buyers.
4. Get a bank to agree to finance the project (very difficult).
5. Form a corporation to operate the project.
6. Secure the sitea) Approval from Tribeb) Site Surveyc) Environmental Clearancesd) Site Engineering (is the site suitable for the project?)e) Lease (must be approved by BIA)
7. Sign a Power Purchase Agreement with the customer.
8. Enter into a partnership with the bank to build the project.
9. Hire construction company.
10. Grade and prepare the site.
11. Install generating equipment (solar panels).
12. Interconnect with power grid.a) Interconnection Application
13. Provide power to customer.
14. Wait for the money to arrive.
Developing a Renewable Energy Project on Tribal Land in 14 Easy Steps…
1. Identify site and suitable renewable technology
2. Identify transmission interconnection point
3. Identify potential power buyers
4. Get a bank to agree to finance the project (very difficult)
5. Form a corporation to operate the project
6. Secure the sitea) Approval from Tribeb) Site Surveyc) Environmental Clearancesd) Site Engineering (is the site suitable for the project?)e) Lease (must be approved by BIA)
7. Sign a Power Purchase Agreement with the customer
8. Execute agreement with bank to build the project
9. Hire construction company
10. Grade and prepare the site
11. Install generating equipment (solar panels)
12. Interconnect with power grida) Interconnection Application
13. Provide power to customer
14. Wait for the money to arrive
Where are we now…?
Done
In Process
Not Yet Done
Environmental Benefits
• A coal-fired power plant emits 2,249 lbs. of CO2 gas per MW hour.
• Over the 25-year service life of the equipment, the Jemez Solar Project will offset over 278,876 tons of CO2.
• First commercial scale, grid-tied solar project on tribal land nationwide.
• Project could be replicated by other tribes.
• DOE estimates solar resources on tribal land equal to 8 times current U.S. energy consumption.
• Source: U.S. EPA: The Emissions & Generation Resource Integrated Database (eGRID), 2008. http://www.epa.gov/solar/energy-resources/egrid/faq.html
So What’s Holding Up the Sale of Power?• In the western U.S., where much of the U.S. solar resource lies, low
population densities limit power market for utilities.
• In remote areas where tribal renewable resources exist, only potential buyers are utilities and federal facilities.
• Limited potential power buyers in New Mexico. For Jemez, only options are PNM, Jemez Mountains Electrical Co-op, Los Alamos National Lab.
Tribal Reservation Lands
What’s Holding Up Sale of Power?
• PNM not interested in purchasing solar power.
• Jemez Mountains Electrical Co-op is interested but cannot afford it without subsidy from Tri-State Generation and Transmission Co.
• Los Alamos interested but can buy power at below-market rates from the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) which is a tax-payer funded, DOE entity.
Competing DOE Policies
• DOE Indian Policy• EPACT 2005
– Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs
– 2x credit for tribal energy• DOE Tribal Energy
Program– Grants– Loan Guarantees– Technical Assistance
• DOE/Jemez Accord• Obama Administration
Priorities– Reducing CO2– Promoting Renewable
Energy – Energy Security
Below market, tax payer subsidized power from WAPA.
VS.
Potential Solutions to Competing DOE Policies
• DOE procurement officials agree that the DOE tribal policies carry some weight but do not obligate them to purchase Jemez solar power for more than the “market rate.”
• What is the market rate? – The rate federal facilities pay WAPA for renewable power?– The rate paid in the private sector?– The actual cost to the government once WAPA rates and the tax-payer
subsidies are combined?
• This is where our project, the first of its kind, is encountering policy obstacles that must be remedied before other projects can move forward.
• Jemez is working closely with DOE to develop solutions to these issues so the project can be constructed.
Innovative Exploration Techniques for Geothermal Assessment
at Jemez Pueblo, New Mexico
A Proposal to the U.S. Department of Energy Geothermal Technologies Program
Submitted by
Pueblo of Jemez, New Mexico
Topic Area 1: Validation of Innovative Exploration Technologies
DE-FOA-0000109
Jemez Students at Indian Springs Geothermal WellEarth Day, 2009
Thank you!!
