McAllen Ranch has thrived as a cattle ranch since 1790. James McAllen Jr. is the current manager of McAllen Ranch.
The McAllen Ranch field, rich in natural gas deposits, has been drilled extensively since 1960. Copious historical data from past drilling projects demonstrated that McAllen Ranch could also be a valuable source for geothermal energy. However, industrial technology for harvesting geothermal energy was yet undeveloped.
In 2018, James and his ranching family created an entity known as Los Faroles, LLC which owns a one-megawatt solar array and delivers electricity to the local rural community. This system was the first “rancher owned” solar array system of its kind in South Texas when constructed.
Inspired by the success of the Los Faroles Project, James McAllen Jr. began to study other alternative energy opportunities for McAllen Ranch. Understanding the potential of geothermal exploration on McAllen Ranch coincided with Sage Geosystems exploring abandoned natural gas perforations in South Texas. A synergistic strategic partnership was born, which resulted in the creation of Rio Grande Geothermal, LLC.
Richard Estrada founded Statewide Renewable, LLC in 2017. With multiple solar projects currently selling power to Magic Valley Electric Cooperative, Statewide Renewable is overseeing the planning, investor coordination, engineering, construction and sales negotiation for four more solar projects in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas.
Richard Estrada has extensive experience delivering alternative energy projects from concept to profitability.
Since 2007, Richard Estrada has planned, engineered and installed over 100 Megawatts of solar projects across Texas.
As the former head of commercial development for Circular Energy, Richard was a key employee in developing and installing a 10-acre, 2 MW solar field for Tito’s Vodka Solar Facility in Austin, Texas.
MAC-GT1 is the first, hot dry rock, electrical generation, geothermal facility of its kind. Located on McAllen Ranch, MAC-GT1 is a joint venture between Rio Grande Geothermal LLC as the developer and Sage Geosystems as the engineer and contractor.
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