Despite stiff political headwinds, tribe in Colorado brings utility scale solar project online

[BumRushDaShow]

Last edited Mon Jul 6, 2026, 03:37 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: NPR

July 6, 2026 12:01 AM ET


The Trump administration has killed tax credits for renewable energy, fought to end wind farms, and called solar panels "ugly." So, it's notable that the small Ute Mountain Ute tribe in Colorado has managed to keep one big solar project on track.

Over the next year and half, solar panels capable of generating 270 megawatts worth of electricity, and 180 megawatts of battery storage will be built on tribal land in neighboring New Mexico, according to the project's developer. (The average American home uses a little less than one megawatt-hours per month, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration).

"I want to thank everybody that has had their hands tied to this project," Alston Turtle, a member of the Ute Mountain Ute tribal council told about 100 people at a recent groundbreaking ceremony for it.

"We're going through some challenging times right now, especially with the solar projects," Turtle said. "But we've got to continue to move forward in the vision that we see is right. As Native Americans we try to be the best stewards of the land, and take care of this land that was given to us."

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2026/07/06/nx-s1-5779756/despite-stiff-political-headwinds-tribe-in-colorado-brings-utility-scale-solar-project-online

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Article updated.

Original article -

July 6, 2026 12:01 AM ET


The Trump administration has killed tax credits for renewable energy, fought to end wind farms, and called solar panels "ugly." So, it's notable that the small Ute Mountain Ute tribe in Colorado has managed to keep one big solar project on track.

Over the next year and half, solar panels capable of generating 270 megawatts worth of electricity, and 180 megawatts of battery storage will be built on tribal land in neighboring New Mexico. (The average American home uses a little less than one kilowatt per month, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration).

"I want to thank everybody that has had their hands tied to this project," Alston Turtle, a member of the Ute Mountain Ute tribal council told about 100 people at a recent groundbreaking ceremony for it.

"We're going through some challenging times right now, especially with the solar projects," Turtle said. "But we've got to continue to move forward in the vision that we see is right. As Native Americans we try to be the best stewards of the land, and take care of this land that was given to us."

[Leghorn21]

1. FINALLY, a piece of good news this morning!!

Big congrats to the Ute tribe for hangin in and hangin tough and showing how you do this!!! 👏🏼 👏🏼

Many thanks for posting, Bum, I can breathe again now!

[bluedigger]

2. Good to see my neighbors making progress on this project.

I have been following it for quite some time now. (I live in the Four Corners, and can walk onto Ute Mountain Ute Reservation land going South, East, and West from our place. )

[Scruffy1]

3. This is a good thing.

I became solar powered through El Paso Electric's community solar program last year, Am am wondering how the average household use of one kilowatt per month instead of about 900 got through. AI is not your friend.

[dlk]

4. Persistence pays

Never give up! Kudos to the Ute mountain tribe!

[mountain grammy]

5. Bravo to the Ute Nation for bringing clean energy

to one of the most interesting and beautiful parts of Colorado!

[ChicagoTeamster]

6. Trump thinks he's an expert on what looks good?

His destruction of the White House, his gaudy gold mouldings. His penthouse in Trump Tower was used in the devil’s advocate movie as Al Pacino’s home. No redecoration for that exact reason.

I know he got rid of the offshore windmills because when they put them up offshore from his golf course in Scotland he said it spoiled the view.

And he spent government money to stop a project that billions in government money had already been spent on to end an offshore wind farm that would have supplied power to multiple east coast communities at a time when power hogging data centers are being shoved down their throats.

[bluestateboomer]

7. The article quote is wrong,

This what the article said:" (The average American home uses a little less than one megawatt-hours per month, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration)."

[Miguelito Loveless]

9. Either AI

or someone who doesn't know a thing about basic electricity.

[BumRushDaShow]

11. They updated after I posted but kept their just-after-midnight published timestamp and didn't update the timestamp

[Miguelito Loveless]

8. Absolute nonsense

(The average American home uses a little less than one kilowatt per month, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration).

The average US home uses about 30 kilowatt hours per day. The power draw be can up to 30-50kw if you have a lot of things going at once.

Power is measured in kilowatts (kw)
Energy is measured in kilowatt hours (kWh)

Example: A single old school 100w light bulb uses 100 watts of power, amounting to 0.1 kWH of energy if turned on for a single hour. A kilowatt hour of electricity will light it up for ten hours.

[BumRushDaShow]

10. I think they got the units wrong and apparently fixed it after posting

The article has this now -

Over the next year and half, solar panels capable of generating 270 megawatts worth of electricity, and 180 megawatts of battery storage will be built on tribal land in neighboring New Mexico, according to the project's developer. (The average American home uses a little less than one megawatt-hours per month, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration).

Plus they link to the U.S. EIA page with the data - https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=97&t=3

[Miguelito Loveless]

12. That is about right

30-35 kWh per day. Fully electric houses and houses with EVs can use 1.5-2x that.

Average cost per kWh in my state (NC) is 15¢/kWh, though states up North, and out West can be much highers and can have time of day rates (how much you pay depends on when you consume power). Most expensive early morning and evening. Places like Hawaii can cost as much as 55¢/kWh.

[hunter]

13. Projects like this do not make me optimistic about the future.

This will increase the price of electricity to consumers without a corresponding reduction of adverse environmental impacts.

If we are truly interested in reducing the environmental footprint of humanity there are more effective ways of accomplishing that.

Trashing vast areas of wilderness with solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, and "backup" gas power plants isn't going to save the world. It's not even going to delay the catastrophic collapse of earth's natural environment as we humans have known it.

I'm not without optimism, this just doesn't do it for me. The math doesn't work.