NNSA announces partnership with Los Alamos County to power DOE laboratories in New Mexico with carbon-free solar energy

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. - A partnership with Los Alamos County will provide the Department of Energy's two national laboratories in New Mexico with electricity produced from the County's new Foxtail Flats solar and energy storage project, which is proposed to be operational by March 1, 2026.

This action, which represents the largest ever carbon-pollution-free electricity (CFE) procurement for DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), will advance the Biden-Harris Administration's federal sustainability goals, catalyze America's clean energy industries and jobs, and build healthier communities.

When fully operational, the Los Alamos County Foxtail Flats Solar and Storage Project is expected to provide 170 megawatts (MW) of carbon-free solar energy and 320 megawatt-hours (MWh) of battery storage to Los Alamos County, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), and the Department of Defense's Kirtland Air Force Base.

President Biden's Federal Sustainability Plan directs the Government to lead by example to help tackle the climate crisis. It establishes an ambitious path to achieve 100% CFE for federal government operations by 2030, including 50% on a 24/7 hourly matched basis, along with aggressive goals for electric vehicles and net-zero emissions buildings.

"The Foxtail Flats Solar and Storage Project is the result of successful partnerships across New Mexico with the common goal of providing reliable, resilient, and cost-effective power that advances CFE," said NNSA Administrator Jill Hruby. "The project demonstrates that working together we can dramatically increase clean power on the path to 100 percent CFE."

Foxtail Flats is developing the project under a contract with Los Alamos County, under which it agrees to supply electricity over a 20-year term at a firm fixed price below the current market price. The developer will construct the project on lands leased from the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, a private land owner, and the State of New Mexico, near the former San Juan Generating Station northwest of Farmington.

"President Biden charged the federal government to use our buying power, as the nation's largest energy consumer, to support the growth of America's clean energy industry - and to do so in ways that are good for taxpayers and communities," said Andrew Mayock, Federal Chief Sustainability Officer at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. "Strengthening and deepening partnerships with utilities and our State, Tribal, and local partners will spur new clean electricity production, create good-paying jobs, increase our resilience to climate change, and enhance our national security."

Philo Shelton, Utilities Manager with Los Alamos County says, "As a member of Los Alamos Power Pool (LAPP), we have been pursuing carbon-free power. We have anticipated the retirement of the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station, which closed in September 2022 and served LAPP with 36 megawatts of energy. This Foxtail Flats Project is a carbon-free renewable replacement that is a perfect fit for LAPP, and is a significant step in reaching our carbon-free electric production goals."

Federal demand for new sources of locally supplied carbon-free electricity will save taxpayer money and create good-paying jobs, a more stable and resilient grid, and cleaner air for local communities. The Foxtail Flats Solar and Storage Project will deliver a number of benefits, including:

• Increasing the amount of CFE on the grid, aiming to lower electricity costs for the residents of Los Alamos County while providing power grid stability to the local community;
• Increasing the overall supply of electricity to accommodate projected increases in the laboratories' use of high-performance computing facilities;
• Replacing the 36 MW that DOE/NNSA previously obtained from the San Juan Generating Station, a coal-powered facility that closed in 2022, and other expiring power contracts;
• Increasing DOE/NNSA's reliance on solar energy, which is more predictable and less variable year-round than the seasonal run-of-the-river generation at the County's two hydroelectric plants, from which DOE/NNSA currently sources CFE;
• Helping DOE and the Department of Defense to meet President Biden's goal of 100% CFE by 2030, and Los Alamos County to meet its 2040 carbon-neutral electrical energy goal;
• Reducing costs of fossil fuel energy relative to energy from coal and natural gas plants in the region;
• Helping to replace the jobs lost as a result of the closing of the San Juan Generating Station;
• Generating land lease payments to the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and the State of New Mexico; and
• Adding a reliable, long-term source of gross receipt tax revenue for the region.

Background:
With more than 300,000 buildings and 600,000 vehicles, the U.S. Government is the nation's largest energy consumer. In December 2021, President Biden issued the Federal Sustainability Plan, which directed the Government to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 by transitioning to zero-emission vehicles, energy efficient buildings, and carbon pollution-free electricity. In particular, the Plan directs the Government to transition to 100% CFE by 2030, at least half of which will be locally supplied clean energy to meet 24/7 hourly matched demand. Over the past three years, the U.S. Government has signed agreements to provide federal facilities in 16 states with 100% CFE by 2030, which will increase the U.S. Government's reliance on clean energy from 38% to 47% en route to 100% by 2030.

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