WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall, D-NM, applauded today's commitment by Chevron Mining to build a new solar technology facility atop a brownfield site at the company's Questa mine.
Chevron will redevelop a portion of the tailings site from its molybdenum mine in Questa, which has been in use for more than a century. This project will allow for exploration of new uses for mining brownfields while producing approximately one megawatt of solar power to be sold locally and connected to the Kit Carson Rural Electric Cooperative.
"I applaud Chevron Mining for working with the Village of Questa and the Kit Carson Co-op to develop this ‘brown-to-green' renewable energy opportunity," Udall said. "With this project, rural New Mexico will benefit from another new solar power source and demonstrate new beneficial uses for mining properties."
The facility will include approximately 175 solar panels on about 20 acres of the Questa Mine's tailings site. The project will be implemented in conjunction with an evaluation of various soil cover depths for closure of the tailing facility at the end of mining operations.
