Pueblo of Jemez Renewable Energy Projects A Presentation to National Pollution Prevention

Roundtable Tribal P2 Workgroup

March 16, 2010Greg Kaufman

Environmental ScientistPueblo of Jemez

Department of Resource Protection575-834-3210

gkaufman@jemezpueblo-drp.org

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 Mountains and Valles Caldera

Genesis of Solar Project

• The 17-year relationship between Jemez and DOE has fostered the ability to work successfully together.

• Jemez and DOE are seeking a way to partner to develop solar energy at Jemez that can be used at Los Alamos.

• Jemez is also negotiating sale of solar power to the local utility company, the Jemez Mountains Electrical Cooperative, with whom the project will interconnect on the Pueblo.

• Executing a power purchase agreement with either or both of these entities will allow the solar project to close on financing and commence construction. Build out will take 6-9 months.

Other 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 Jemez Mountains Electrical Cooperative or the Los Alamos County Utilities/DOE Power Pool.

• 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.

Project BenefitsEnvironmental Benefits:

– A coal-fired power plant emits 2,249 lbs. of CO2 gas per MW hour.

– Over the twenty-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.

Fiscal/Social Benefits:

– Provide sustainable, profitable revenue stream to Pueblo.

– Could improve major infrastructure problems at the Pueblo.

– Creates track record for Pueblo as a competent renewable energy project developer leading to additional solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass projects.

– Sets positive example for Jemez students pursuing college and careers in hopes of contributing to the Pueblo and their people.

• Source: U.S. EPA: The Emissions & Generation Resource Integrated Database (eGRID), 2008. http://www.epa.gov/solar/energy-resources/egrid/faq.html

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

Jemez Solar Project Update

• What’s left to do:

– Site Engineering• Geotechnical Survey • Grading and Drainage Plan• Sub-Station Design

– Execute a lease between Hoh-Khee-Whaa Renewable Energy, Inc. and the Pueblo of Jemez Government and have it approved by BIA.

• Site appraisal (fair market value of lease)

– Complete Power Purchase Agreement

– Form a Project LLC between banks and Hoh-Khee-Whaa Renewable Energy, Inc.

• Project LLC will execute Operating Agreement and PPA

– Begin construction.

Project Financing• Most renewable energy projects are financed and constructed by

development companies and/or utilities with big budgets. They simply buy everything, set it up, and sell the power and Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) to recover their investment, plus profit.

• Jemez is doing this on their own with no money. How?– Small grants from the State of New Mexico and DOE. We’ve used this money

mainly to pay consultants for work we cannot do ourselves.– Much of the development, particularly site selection/characterization and

environmental work we have done in-house.– Kind and gifted people have helped us because they believe in the project.

• David Griscom – Regional Development Corporation - Santa Fe.• Merrick Engineering – Los Alamos• Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal, LLP – Washington D.C.• Michael Best and Friedrich, LLP - Milwaukee, WI• VanAmberg, Rogers, Yepa, Abeita & Gomez, LLP – Santa Fe• SPG Solar – San Diego, CA• Emcore Solar – Albuquerque• Wells Fargo• Red Mountain Energy Partners – Phoenix, AZ• Albert Petrasek, Don Ami, and Mary Ann Fresco - DOE

Project Financing• Grant Funding To-Date:

– DOE: Pre-construction activities (finance, business plan): $92,500.

– State of New Mexico Energy Minerals and Natural Resources Dept. • Feasibility Study (completed 4/07): $58,810.• Pre-construction, equipment purchase & commissioning: $198,333.• State total = $257,143.

• Grant Proposals Submitted:

– DOE Tribal Energy Program• $5 Million – development of project contracts and agreements, civil

engineering design – denied by DOE in August, 2009.

– DOE ARRA Grant Program – DOE Golden Field Office• $7.2 million for project development and equipment deployment. Jemez

supplying equal amount in matching funds – denied by DOE in January, 2010.

How Are We Paying for This Project?

• The Pueblo does not have $19.9 million it will take to build the project and taking out a loan that big does not work economically.

• Tax credits work the same as bringing money to the table. They are the same as cash to the bank (equity).

• Our Finance Model, developed by Red Mountain Energy Partners, uses two federal tax credits, the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) and the New Market Tax Credit (NMTC).

• Combined, these two tax credits cover two-thirds of the project cost. This leaves one-third left to pay.

• The remaining one-third will be paid for by a bank loan.

Geothermal Energy Exploration at Jemez

• Awarded grant for $4,995,844 from the Dept. of Energy for a project entitled “Innovative Exploration Techniques for Geothermal Assessment at Jemez Pueblo, New Mexico.”

• Project will involve researchers from:

– Los Alamos National Lab

– New Mexico Tech

– New Mexico Bureau of Mines & Geology

– University of Utah

– University of Pittsburg

– Institute for Thermal Biology at Montana State University

Geothermal Energy Exploration at Jemez• Scientists will map geology where a geothermal well was drilled into a hot

spring in 1991 in order to locate a deeper geothermal reservoir.

• Project will use innovative techniques for seismic imaging developed by Dr. Lianjie Huang and colleagues at LANL and chemical tracer techniques developed by Dr. Paul Reimus of LANL and Dr. Peter Rose of the University of Utah to locate and drill two geothermal exploration wells at Jemez Pueblo.

http://geothermal.marin.org/GEOpresentation/sld093.htm

Biomass Heat Project at Jemez Pueblo• Jemez awarded grant from DOE for $84,000 to purchase a biomass furnace

for the Walatowa Visitors’ Center and to develop a renewable energy plan.

• Jemez also awarded $99,990 from the New Mexico Energy, Minerals & Natural Resources Dept. to install the biomass furnace and develop an Energy Efficiency Plan for Tribal buildings at the Pueblo.

Thank you!!