AES’ Rancho Viejo Solar project is a planned solar facility that will incorporate the most advanced solar energy and battery storage technologies and is designed to minimize impact on the local environment. Rancho Viejo Solar will support New Mexico’s clean energy goal of 50% renewable by 2030, and 100% renewable by 2045.
Project overview
96 MW Solar + 48 MW Battery Energy Storage
Enough clean energy to power 30,000 New Mexican homes annually
* EPA Calculator
Developed on 680 acres of privately owned land
Located off South NM HWY 14
Provides clean energy to PNM customers
35-year project life span with AES as long-term owner and operator
Project Updates
For publicly available copies of the CUP application, please contact the Santa Fe County Planning Department.
AES submitted Rancho Viejo Solar's Conditional Use Permit to the Santa Fe Planning Department on Jan 26, 2023. Copies will become public information upon the determination of a complete report by County officials.
The AES team has been working closely with the community over the past many months and we have heard your questions, concerns, and suggestions. We have listened and adjusted our plans to ensure that AES’ Rancho Viejo Solar project reflects our commitment to being a good neighbor, and delivers long-lasting, positive impact.
The site design has been adjusted so that the project is no longer directly to the north of the San Marcos neighborhood and therefore all necessary modules will move to the northeast corner of the site. This shift in design will continue to ensure the neighboring residents of Rancho San Marcos will have as unobstructed viewshed as possible to the north. Updated visual simulations were developed and are available below on this page. The battery energy storage systems (BESS) will be located in the remote northeast corner of the site design, more than one mile from any residential property.
Neighborhood Meetings: To apply for a Conditional Use Permit, the County requires project applicants to host a pre-application neighborhood meeting. AES hosted two in-person and one virtual meeting, giving notice to adjacent property owners by First Class Mail, email notification, and published a half-page advertisement in the Santa Fe New Mexican, inviting the public to attend. Neighborhood meetings were held at the Turquoise Trail Charter School on August 3 and October 4, 2022. A virtual meeting was hosted on January 4, 2023. A recording of the 10/4/2022 meeting is linked at the bottom of the page, along with the slide presentation.
Project details
Rancho Viejo solar
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96 MWac solar facility paired with 48 MW containerized lithium-ion battery energy storage system (BESS)
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Will be built on 680 +/- acre project area across 8,200 acre of privately-owned land
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Feeds into the Public Service of New Mexico (PNM) grid, providing power to PNM customers
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Located in Santa Fe County, off South Hwy 14. The solar project will be set-back 1 mile from the highway
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The project will be set-back a minimum of 1,000 ft from any adjacent property boundary
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AES will be long-term owner and operator
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At the end of the project’s life, a decommissioning plan allows for the land to be sensitively restored to pre-existing conditions
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The decommissioning bond, Letter of Credit or Parent Guaranty will be held in the County’s name and will be reviewed to ensure it satisfies current market cost to decommission project
Current proposed equipment specs:
| PV Modules: | Make: BYD MLTK-36 550W |
| Inverter: | Make: GPTech PV3MWD |
| Racking: | Make: ATI DuraTrack |
| Battery Module: | Module: SDI E5D |
| Battery Container: | Make: CEN 40’ ISO |
| Battery Inverter: | Make: GPTECH 3MWD3-V730 |
Clean energy benefits local communities
- Long-term tax revenue to counties, towns and school districts
- Job creation during construction and operation
- Landowner income diversification, empowering landowner rights
- Local economic stimulus during construction
- Affordable, reliable, locally produced clean energy
- Improved air quality and reduced CO2 emissions
- Social impact funding to area community organizations and non-profits
- Non-permanent development and low-impact construction that ensures land can be sensitively restored to pre-project conditions at the end of the project’s life
