NEW WIND FARM IN THE OFFING FOR NORTHERN ARIZONA

Nearly 600 acres of solar panels will comprise a new wind farm planned for an open swath of land near the town of Valle, Arizona.

The Next Era Energy Resources company of Juno Beach, Florida says it wants to build just over 60 turbines on land that is partly owned by the State of Arizona and partly owned by a private party.

Ultimately the farm will have a capacity of up to 161 megawatts of wind energy, as well as 60 megawatts of solar energy.

The planned site is just over 50 miles to the northwest of Flagstaff.

What is being called the Babbitt Ranch Energy Center will eventually encompass just under 63,000 acres, with plans for the project set to be submitted to the Coconino Planning and Zoning Commission this summer.

If approved, work on the solar farm could launch later this year.

Next Era is now one of the largest global generators of renewable energy from the sun and the wind, with more than 125 projects currently in operation in both the U.S. and Canada.
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The company built the largest solar photovoltaic power plant in the country in Florida in 2009, and followed that up with construction of the country’s first solar-gas hybrid power plant the next year.

By Garry Boulard

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