EL PASO ELECTRIC COMPANY

1

Renewable Energy
EPE Today

Serving the local community for 110 years

 372,000 retail and wholesale customers

 10,000-square-mile service territory

 $1.5 million in annual charitable and economic development 

contributions

 $1.2 million to be spent in redesigning several key instruments 

and sensing lines to be protected to -10 degrees F

 More than $800 million in capital investments through 2015:

– New generation (including traditional & renewable energy)

– Expansion and updating of transmission & distribution infrastructure

– Capital investments at Palo Verde

2
EPE Service Territory

3
EPE’s Current Energy Portfolio

4

EPE’s Generation Summer 2011

Nuclear 633 MW

Natural Gas 1,053 MW

Coal 108 MW

Renewable 26 MW(1)

TOTAL 1,815 MW

Note 1: 25MW owned by other parties. EPE buys all output.
Renewable Energy

Renewable energy sources regenerate 

and can be sustained indefinitely 

(unlike fossil fuels which are exhaustible) 

EPE Service Territory

Solar

Biomass

×Wind (not typically available in summer)

×Hydro (we live in a desert!)

×Geothermal (little underground activity)

5
SOLAR

 Advantages

– No emissions

– Availability during peak summer demand

– Can be integrated with existing generation

– Fuel source is free

 Disadvantages

– Large land requirements

– No power at night

– Reduced output on cloudy and dusty days

– Limited or costly storage capabilities

– Requires traditional generation backup

6
BIOMASS

Biomass 

(manure from feed lots / trash from landfills)

 Advantages

– High efficiency

– Low emissions

 Disadvantages

– Location needs to be near a fuel source

– Unproven technology on large scale with 

dairy farms

– Requires traditional generation as 

backup

7
WIND 

 Advantages

– No emissions

– Low operating costs

– Fuel source free

 Disadvantages

– Wind is not constant (El Paso is not in a wind corridor)

– May not be available during summer peak months 

– New transmission lines add to the cost of wind energy

– Requires traditional generation as backup

8
Electricity Cost Comparison

9

Industry Data Capacity/

by Resource Type Availability Installed Total

Costs are in 2010 $ Factor* $/kW* ¢/kWh*

Solar (thermal) 25% 6,106 31.7 

Solar (photovoltaic) 25% 6,014 11.0 -27.9 

Wind 36% 2.352 8.2 

Biomass (landfill) 90% 1,350 5.9 

Natural Gas CC 75% 1,076 10.1 

Nuclear (advanced) 90% 4,181 11.6 

Coal (scrubbed) 85% 2,468 8.3 

*Source: Electric Power Research Institute / 2010 Technical Summary Reports (some values rounded).
EPE & Renewable Energy

EPE is committed to supporting the development of 

renewable energy projects in our

Texas & New Mexico service territories

Factors that impact EPE’s renewable energy decisions:

– Cost impact on rate payers

– Ongoing advancements in renewable energy technology

– Identifying feasible renewable projects for our territory

10
State Renewable Portfolio 

Standards

Texas

 Electricity providers must meet collective renewable capacity 

requirements based on their market share of energy sales in TX 

 Must be met through renewable energy credits (REC’s) or 

generated/purchased in TX

 EPE to obtain renewable energy capacity equaling approximately 2% of 

its Texas sales

New Mexico

 Renewable energy credits (REC’s) and/or generated energy

o 10% by 2011

o 15% by 2015

o 20% by 2020

 Standards require diverse mix of renewable energy:

o At minimum 20% solar

o At minimum 20% wind

o At minimum10% other (biomass, geothermal, landfill gas) 11
Customer Participation in 

Renewable Energy

EPE’s Voluntary Renewable Energy (VRE) Tariff

• VRE Tariff enables customers to support the use of electric 

energy produced by renewable energy resources such as:

• Solar

• Wind

• Biomass

• Money is banked for future projects

• EPE is working on new projects for voluntary tariff

12
EPE’s Current 

Renewable Energy Projects

13
Hueco Mountain Wind Ranch

 2 wind turbines

 Located east of Horizon, TX

 Began operating in 2001

 Cost: $2 million

 Capacity: 

– 1.32 MW 

– 660 kW each turbine

– 438 homes/year

14
El Paso Zoo Project

 Solar PV & Wind demonstration 

building 

 Located in the El Paso Zoo 

African Exhibit

 Educates visitors about 

renewable energy

 Began operating in 2010

 EPE contribution: $750,000

 Capacity

– 3 kW solar photovoltaic panels

– 3.5 kW wind turbine

15
Southwest Environmental Center

(SWEC)

 Solar Photovoltaic System

 Located in Las Cruces, NM 

 Began operating in 2008

 Capacity:

– Approx11.57 MWh/yr 

– 2 homes/year

16
Camino Real Landfill (CRLEF) Project

 Methane harvested from landfill 

gas

 Located in Camino Real Landfill, 

Sunland Park, NM

 Owned by Four Peaks Energy, Inc

 Began operating in 2008

 Capacity:

– 1-3 MW

– 1,190 homes/year

17
Solar PV Systems at Newman 

& Rio Grande Power Plants

 2 Solar Photovoltaic Systems

 Located at Newman & Rio Grande 

Power Stations

 Cost: $7,238/kW

 Began operating in 2009

 Capacity: 

– 130,000 kWh/year per system

– 260,000 kWh/year total

– 40 homes/year

18
EPE’s Planned Renewable 

Energy Projects

19
Hatch Project

 Solar Photovoltaic System

 Located in Hatch, NM

 Owned by Nextera Energy

 On-line Date: July 8, 2011

 Capacity: 

– 5 MW

– 1,600 Homes/year

20
NRG Solar Project

 Solar Photovoltaic System

 Located in Santa Teresa, NM

 Owned by NRG Energy

 On-line: August, 2011

 Proposed Capacity: 

– 20 MW

– (~6,600 homes/year)

21
SunEdison Solar Project

 Solar Photovoltaic System

 Located in Las Cruces & Chaparral, 

New Mexico

 Owned by SunEdison

 On-line: 

– Las Cruces: March 2012

– Chaparral: April 2012

 Proposed Capacity: 

– 22 MW

– 7,300 Homes/year

22
Projects in the El Paso Area

PROJECT INFORMATION

• Project Type: Solar Photovoltaic Systems

• Fuel Source: Sun

• Project Locations: 

• EPE Stanton Building Downtown El Paso

• Proposed Capacity: 33 kW (~11 homes/year)

• Owner: EPE

• On-line Date: September 2011

• EPE Wrangler Substation (east El Paso near I-10)

• Proposed Capacity: 53 kW (~18 homes/year)

• Owner: EPE

• On-line Date: September 2011

23
Projects in the El Paso Area

PROJECT INFORMATION

• Project Type: Solar Photovoltaic Systems

• Fuel Source: Sun

• Project Locations: 

• El Paso Community College (EPCC) ATC Building ( in discussion 

phase)

• Proposed Capacity: Pending discussions with EPCC

• Owner: EPE would own and maintain

• EPE would also donate two pedestal mount systems to EPCC 

that may be used for instructional purposes. 

24
Thank you for your time.

QUESTIONS???

25