NRG Energy and eSolar just announced that El Paso electric has contracted them to build a solar power plant in Dona Ana county in New Mexico. The plant will be constructed and owned by NRG, and built with eSolar’s solar thermal technology per the agreement the two companies entered in February.

The Dona Ana plant is expected to be up and running by late 2011, and when completed it will produce 92 MW of solar power. The Wall Street Journal reported that the fast construction time will be achieved by building the plant on private land, avoiding the approval process to build on public land. In the Journal article, Michael Liebelson, NRG’s head of low-carbon technology, said "Our objective is to accelerate development of these projects and get them built and operating. Locating on private land gives you a leg up."

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