Rio Rancho council allows solar energy project in Loma Barbon

RIO RANCHO — The Rio Rancho Governing Body approved a private developer’s request Sept. 25 to make it possible to build an array of tens of thousands of solar panels in northern Rio Rancho.

The six-member governing body approved a resolution amending a decades-old master plan to allow renewable energy projects, like one from Albuquerque-based Affordable Solar, to be built on 80 acres within the Loma Barbon area of the city.

The governing body also approved an ordinance allowing for development of a 15,000-panel “community solar and battery storage facility” in the master plan.

District 3 Councilor Bob Tyler was the only dissenting vote on both initiatives. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

The solar project — to be located on state trust land — now heads into site planning, which must be approved by the governing body before building permits can be issued.

Following the meeting, the project’s presenters, Laurie Moye and Dylan Connelly, praised the governing body’s approval Thursday.

“We’re very happy with the result (and) move this project onto the next phase,” said Connelly, director of commercial development for Afforable Solar. “These particular projects — and this particular project — is a solar site (that is) closer to the community. Some of the other ones are a little bit further away.”

He was referring to community solar projects, spurred by New Mexico’s Community Solar Act, which was signed into law by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in April 2021. Connelly told governing body members during Thursday’s meeting that Affordable Solar turned on its first community solar project in the state — Los Lunas — the day before. The Loma Bardon project would be the first for the company to be established in Rio Rancho, he said.

The project touted by Connelly and Moye would provide half of the power to low-income households, allowing families to save 17% on their electric bill. Moye noted that although an emphasis on the project is placed on low-income families, anyone can sign up with Affordable Solar.

“We’re very pleased (the governing body) moved forward,” said Moye, president of Marble Enterprises and contractor to SelectROW, which represents Affordable Solar. “Dylan and I really believe this is a good thing for the city of Rio Rancho. This is an opportunity for (residents) ... to have solar that will lower their electric bill.”

In a public hearing Thursday prior to the governing body’s vote, a Glendale, Arizona, resident, who noted she wished to build on the site where the solar array is planned, wondered if the project would impact property taxes or her ability to build. Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull said it would not.

Affordable Solar hopes to break ground on the project in early 2026.