CSU breaks ground on a solar array

Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) is getting ready to tap into the power needs of the future.

Tuesday morning, CSU broke ground on a new solar array.

It will add enough energy to power 3,000 homes.

It’s CSU’s first solar facility and it’s located in southern El Paso County.

The solar farm, built by NextEra Energy, is intended to diversify the utilities’ energy portfolio.

The goal is to generate 20 per cent of its power from renewable sources by 2020.

“While we have fossil fuels, we also have hydroelectric power, we have some wind energy and this allows us to increase our share of solar energy as well,” said Jerry Forte, the CEO of Colorado Springs Utilities.

NextEra Energy will build the 160-acre array, adding to the wind farm in Calhan that the company has already built.

Matt Handel of NextEra said, “We expect Colorado to be a strong solar state over the next five years and we’re developing projects in anticipation of that.”

Construction on the array will be complete by the end of the year.