Solar power project development partnership announced

June 17, 2010 — The development of a solar-electric power plant in south central New Mexico is gaining momentum with the formal addition of Reno, NV based Remote Energy Solutions (RES) to guide the project through feasibility into construction. It was announced last week that RES is now a management partner and minority owner of Warm Springs Renewable Energy Corporation (WSREC), the New Mexico company that will own and operate the plant.

RES specializes in renewable energy development and energy management, including efficiency and distributed generation for the mining sector. As part of the agreement with WSREC, RES will coordinate permitting, interconnection/transmission studies, stakeholder engagement, technology selection and financing for the solar plant. As lead to the development of the project, RES President Ann Carpenter has been appointed as Chief Operating Officer for WSREC.

The announcement was made by Mercator Gold, a British company listed on the London Stock Exchange that will not only hold a 70% interest in the proposed solar plant through WSREC, but which also has a substantial interest in the planned development of a copper-molybdenum-gold-silver mine nearby. This mine, to be operated by New Mexico Copper Corporation (NMCC), is currently in feasibility studies and when open would potentially be a large, stable consumer of energy. In this scenario, the use of solar energy will decrease the proposed mine’s dependency on energy from fossil fuels and reduce its carbon footprint.

“This project has potential to change the way mines look at energy consumption.” states Carpenter. “It’s perhaps never been so timely for the aggressive incorporation of sustainable innovations in energy generation. With this current project, the scale of electricity savings alone for mining operations has the potential to be very significant, not to mention the creation of jobs and reduction of green house gas emissions.”

Renewable energy facilities in proximal locations to mining operations optimize a mine’s extensive infrastructure, transmission paths and road access. The generation of renewable energy has present benefit of lowering costs, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and averting proposed carbon-related penalties under legislation. RES foresees that the development of renewable energy at mine sites offers a sustainable plan for the use of the land after the lifespan of mining activity has commenced.

On behalf of WSREC, RES plans to also develop the option of selling Renewable Energy Credits (RECs). This approach anticipates increased demand for RECs to fulfill green energy regulatory requirements within the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) system.

Permitting for the development of the plant is targeted for completion by the end of 2010, with construction targeted to commence during 2011 subject to ongoing feasibility work. Current plans are for power generation capacity of 20MW; however the plant may grow to 80MW if market conditions are favorable.