DESRI starts construction on 270 MW solar, storage projects in San Juan County

Construction has started on a 270 MW solar-and-storage portfolio in San Juan County, a project that adds another major chapter to the county’s post-coal energy transition. The two co-located facilities sit on land owned by the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, next to DESRI’s operating San Juan Solar and Storage facility and near the retired San Juan Generating Station site, where coal once anchored the local economy.

The buildout includes Foxtail Flats Solar and Storage and Four Mile Mesa Solar and Storage. Foxtail Flats combines 170 MW of solar with an 80 MW, 320 MWh battery system and is backed by a long-term power purchase agreement with the Incorporated County of Los Alamos. Four Mile Mesa pairs 100 MW of solar with a 100 MW, 400 MWh battery project and was procured through Public Service Company of New Mexico’s Rate 36B to support Meta’s data center operations. PNM’s customer notice puts the Four Mile Mesa contract at $39.79 per MWh over 20 years, underscoring how much of the project’s economics depend on long-term utility and corporate demand.

Together, the projects total 270 MW of solar generation and 180 MW, or 720 MWh, of battery storage. DESRI said the portfolio will begin commercial operations in 2027. At peak construction, the company expects about 600 workers on site, a short-term employment surge that will ripple through local contractors, hotels, restaurants and suppliers in and around Farmington, Kirtland and the broader San Juan County labor market.

For local governments, the larger question is how much of that investment will translate into durable value after construction crews leave. The projects sit in a county that has spent years trying to replace the tax base and employment tied to coal generation, while also strengthening the grid with assets that can store power and shift it to when demand is highest. Battery storage is especially important in that equation because it can smooth output from solar generation and provide more flexible support to the regional system.

DESRI said the projects build on the performance of its adjacent San Juan Solar and Storage facility and reflect its commitment to the region’s clean-energy transition. Tierra Adentro Growth Capital said its equity investment is intended to catalyze local economic growth and employment. The company also has precedent nearby: it broke ground on the 200 MWac San Juan 1 solar-plus-storage project in October 2023, another sign that the San Juan basin is being remade by projects designed to serve both utility customers and a changing regional grid.