Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 124, No. 14 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
County moves forward with $290M solar power project
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
January 16, 2015
FRIDAY
www.rdrnews.com
Development would be largest in state history BY JEFF TUCKER RECORD STAFF WRITER
The Chaves County Commission took its first step Thursday in support of a $290 million solar power project northeast of Roswell that would be the largest solar project in state history, capable of powering every home in Roswell and then some. The commission on Thursday unanimously approved an “inducement resolution,” paving the way for the commission to approve an ordinance next month that would authorize Chaves County to issue $290 million of 30-year industrial revenue bonds on behalf of Juno Beach, Florida-based NextEra Energy Resources LLC. County leaders have repeatedly said the bond sale would in no way financially obligate the county. The resolution approved by the commis-
sion Thursday reiterates the county would not be on the hook. “Nothing contained in this resolution or in any other instrument shall be considered as obligating the county to any pecuniary liability or a charge upon the general credit of the county or against its taxing power, it being understood that no costs are to be borne by the county and that all costs incurred by the county in connection with the bonds are to be promptly reimbursed by the companies,” the resolution states. NextEra Energy Resources, the largest generator of renewable wind and solar energy in North America, has proposed building three separate solar farms on 1,300 acres of private land northeast of Roswell, all near the intersection of Wrangler and East Pine Lodge roads, 5 to
Above: Submitted Photo
This photo of a 20megawatt solar field just north of Las Vegas, Nev., completed by NextEra Resources, Energy shows what a proposed solar farm in Chaves County would look like. The Nevada solar farm is on 160 acres, whereas the proposed solar farm in Chaves County would occupy up to 1,300 acres and generate up to 170 megawatts. Right: This map presented by NextEra Energy Resources shows the location of three proposed solar fields northeast of Roswell.
Man meets with first responders Watchdog says w h o b r o u g h t h i m b a c k t o l i f e WIPP recovery See SOLAR, Page A3
surrounded by unpredictability
BY RANDAL SEYLER RECORD CITY EDITOR
Roswell resident Tom Barresi died on Dec. 3 — but on Wednesday, Barresi got to meet the paramedics and firefighters who brought him back to life. “You guys are fantastic,” Patty Barresi told the dozen firefighters, EMTs and first responders visiting the Barresis at their home. “You saved my family.” Tom suffered a cardiac arrest at about 6 a.m. on Dec. 3, and his wife found him sprawled on the floor, facedown. He wasn’t breathing and his heart had stopped. “I called 911 and the operator asked me if I knew CPR,” Patty said. “He was on his stomach, and I couldn’t turn him over. Then I heard a voice say, ‘Move his arm.’” Patty rolled her hus-
Randal Seyler Photo
Firefighters and paramedics who responded to Tom Barresi’s home on Dec. 3 included, back row, from left; FAO Jason Evans, Lt. James Higgins, EMT-Paramedic Terry Carter and EMT-I Jaeson Goodwin. Front row, from left, Firefighter Daton Crump, Barresi and wife, Patty.
band over and began performing CPR. “That voice wasn’t the operator, that was the Lord,” she said. “I said ‘God help me!’”
The firefighters were the first to reach the scene,
and they used the AED on Tom and started an IV, said Eric Mann, EMS division chief with the Roswell Fire Department. Minutes later, the ambulance arrived with paramedics
and they took over. “They asked me to leave the room and let them do their jobs, so I did,” Patty said.
No immediate ruling on states’ request to block Obama’s immigration orders BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A federal judge in South Texas on Thursday pushed an attorney representing the federal government to explain the legal authority behind President Barack Obama’s executive action on immigration, which a coalition of 25 states has sued to try to stop. U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen heard arguments during a hearing on
a request by the coalition for a preliminary injunction, which would put Obama’s action on hold until the lawsuit makes its way through the courts. The first of Obama’s orders is set to start accepting applications Feb. 18.
While Hanen at times grilled U.S. Department of Justice attorney Kathleen Hartnett to detail how the federal gover nment can justify legal action which
HIGH 58 LOW 28
TODAY’S FORECAST
See RESPONDERS, Page A6
could spare from deportation as many as 5 million people who are in the U.S. illegally, the judge was measured and cordial throughout the more than three-hour hearing as he questioned lawyers from both sides. Hanen said he would not issue a ruling on the injunction request before Jan. 30. He gave no indication on how he would rule, stating
at the start of the hearing his courtroom would not be a “complaint department” for someone’s problems with the executive branch. He said the case is “an area of legitimate debate” and “there aren’t any bad guys in this.” He said Brownsville and South T exas have seen both the benefits and drawbacks of strict
• ANNABELLE GREATHOUSE
• HERMAN GOODLOW
See LAWSUIT, Page A6
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE A6
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — The U.S. Department of Energy and the contractor that runs the federal gover nment’s troubled nuclear waste repository say it could be more than three years before all operations resume at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in southern New Mexico. The repository has been closed since February 2014, when a canister of waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory leaked in one of its underground storage rooms. Twenty-two workers were contaminated, and the indefinite closure has stalled ef forts around the nation to clean up tons of Cold War -era waste. The Energy Department and Nuclear Waste Part-
nership detailed the timeline Wednesday for decontaminating parts of the repository and resuming waste disposal. While limited operations are expected to resume sometime in 2016, officials said a new ventilation system and an exhaust shaft would need to be installed before shipments of waste could be accepted again by the plant. That work could take until 2018 to complete. Managers have already missed one of the first deadlines in the recovery plan — the New Year’s Day target for closure of a storage bunker affected by the radiation leak. It could be April before that happens See WIPP, Page A2
AP Photo
Julieta Paredes, with the LUPE organization takes the megaphone early Thursday morning during a protest outside the federal courthouse in Brownsville, Texas. CLASSIFIEDS ..........B6 COMICS .................B5 ENTERTAINMENT .....A8 FINANCIAL ..............B4
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