Shallow Basket Solar & Battery Project is Operational on Jicarilla Apache Nation Land
On August 14th, 2025, the Kit Carson Electric Cooperative (KCEC) leadership team and Board of Trustees attended the official ribbon cutting of the now operational Shallow Basket Solar & Battery Project on Jicarilla Apache Nation (JAN) land located in Rio Arriba County, about 30 miles west of Cuba, NM. The Shallow Basket Solar Project is relevant to KCEC members in a number of ways. KCEC’s wholesale power partner, Guzman Energy, is adding all of the power generated by Shallow Basket Solar and Battery to its power supply portfolio. Guzman’s power supply portfolio is used to supply the wholesale electricity needs of all Guzman customers. But location does matter, and therefore, KCEC will receive power from this new solar and battery resource, as will other current and future Guzman Energy customers based in and near northern New Mexico. KCEC’s interest in accessing power generated by the The Shallow Basket Solar and Battery Project was a key part of the collaboration between the cooperative and Guzman, as power offtaking agreements were finalized.
The Shallow Basket Solar project is also notable due to the fact that the JAN is leasing its land to Shallow Basket Solar‘s developer, National Renewable Solutions (NRS). NRS secured a unique agreement with JAN and the Jicarilla Apache Nation Power Authority, enabling the Shallow Basket Project to move forward. In addition to the land lease agreement, JAN will also benefit from power produced by the solar project through its wholesale supply agreement with Guzman Energy.
KCEC and Guzman Energy have entered their ninth year of partnership. Through this highly successful partnership with Guzman Energy, KCEC has stabilized wholesale power costs and achieved the 100% daytime solar-powered milestone. But as the KCEC Board and leadership team have noted, KCEC will continue to innovate. Guzman Energy provides KCEC with the flexibility to undertake projects of the magnitude of the clean hydrogen project, while also supporting the cooperative’s own distributed power generation strategy that contributes to a more resilient, next-generation power system. KCEC operates 42 MW of distributed solar resources and 16.25 MW of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) across its service territory.
