Energy Engineering · Albuquerque

The Southwest Runs on Sun — Commercial Solar & Energy Engineering in New Mexico

Zia designs commercial solar, storage, and microgrids that interconnect cleanly and produce what the model promised — 95 megawatts and counting across New Mexico.

95 MW+ designed±2% model accuracyFirst-pass interconnection

Generation to Resilience

Engineering for owners, developers, and utilities — systems that pencil, permit, and perform.

Commercial Solar PV Design

Rooftop, carport, and ground-mount arrays engineered to real production, not brochure numbers.

Battery Storage Systems

Storage sized to the tariff and the mission — demand shaving, backup, or both.

Microgrids & Resilience

Systems that island gracefully when the grid fails — clinics, campuses, and communities kept running.

Interconnection & Permitting

Applications engineered to each utility's checklist — queues navigated, approvals on schedule.

EV Charging Infrastructure

Fleet and public charging designed with the utility capacity to actually support it.

Owner's Engineering & Due Diligence

Independent review of developer proposals — assumptions checked before the ink dries.

two engineers walking between solar panel rows
Why Zia

The Desert Is a Power Plant

New Mexico gets three hundred days of sun and some of the best solar economics in the country — but only for systems engineered honestly. We model with real weather data, derate like adults, and design for the dust, heat, and hail the brochure ignores. That's why our arrays produce what we said they would.

  • Production modeled on real Southwest weather
  • Designs that survive dust, heat, and monsoon
  • Tariff analysis before a single panel is picked
  • Licensed PEs who specialize in energy
95 MW+Designed & Interconnected
10Years in the Southwest
±2%Model vs. Actual Production
First-PassInterconnection, Most Utilities
How It Works

Feasibility to First Kilowatt

1

Model the Site

Loads, tariffs, and solar resource analyzed — the honest math on what the site can earn.

2

Design the System

Arrays, storage, and interconnection engineered as one system, sealed by a PE.

3

Clear the Queue

Utility applications and permits managed to approval — the paperwork is half the project.

4

Verify Performance

Commissioning and first-year production review — the model meets the meter.

a black wall-mounted power unit
Storage & Resilience

When the Grid Blinks, Yours Doesn't

Batteries changed the math. Storage now pays for itself shaving demand charges — and the same system keeps your operation alive through outages. We size storage to your tariff first, your resilience needs second, and the vendor's spec sheet never.

  • Demand-charge analysis drives the sizing
  • Islanding designed and tested, not assumed
  • Critical loads mapped and prioritized
  • Vendor-agnostic — the tariff picks the battery
Field Lessons

What 95 Megawatts Teach

01

Derate Like You Mean It

Optimistic models sell projects; honest models finance them. Our ±2% track record is a derating discipline.

02

The Queue Is the Schedule

Interconnection timing rules everything. We file early, file right, and design to the utility's rules.

03

Dust Is a Design Load

Southwest arrays live with dust, hail, and 110-degree summers. Engineering for the brochure climate fails here.

The Standard

Every Project Gets

PE-Sealed Design

Licensed engineers seal every design — accepted by utilities, AHJs, and lenders alike.

Bankable Production Models

Weather-based modeling that financiers trust — because it keeps matching the meter.

Incentives Captured

Federal, state, and utility programs identified and papered — money left on tables offends us.

Construction Oversight

Installer QA and commissioning by the engineer of record — built as designed.

References

From Owners Watching Their Meters

Our warehouse array has produced within two percent of Zia's model every single year — three years running. When the engineering is honest, the financing stays boring. Exactly what we wanted.
Ramón ArchuletaOwner, distribution company
The microgrid kept our clinic running through a nine-hour outage — lights, refrigeration, everything. Patients didn't notice, which is the whole point. Zia designed it to be forgettable.
Dr. Elena VigilMedical director, rural health clinic
Their owner's engineering caught a shading assumption in the developer's model that would have cost us six figures over the PPA term. Best due-diligence money we've ever spent.
Curtis NezCFO, tribal enterprise
Questions

Asked Before the Site Visit

Does commercial solar actually pencil in New Mexico?

Usually, and often strongly — high sun, rising rates, and current incentives make most commercial roofs cash-positive early. The feasibility model tells you exactly, before you spend real money.

Do you install, or just design?

We engineer — design, permitting, interconnection, and construction oversight. Installation goes to qualified contractors we spec and QA, which keeps the engineering honest and the bids competitive.

Is battery storage worth it without solar?

On demand-heavy tariffs, frequently yes — storage alone can shave peaks that dominate your bill. The tariff analysis answers it in a week.

What does a microgrid cost?

It scales with the loads you protect — a clinic's critical circuits cost far less than a whole campus. We map critical loads first, so you buy resilience where it matters.

How long does interconnection take?

Weeks to many months depending on the utility and system size. We've filed with every utility in the region — our applications are engineered to their checklists, which is why most clear on the first pass.

Can you review a developer's proposal we already have?

That's owner's engineering — an independent check of production models, assumptions, and contract terms. It routinely pays for itself in one corrected assumption.

rooftop solar panels under a pink sunset
Incentive Windows Move

The Sun Is Patient. The Programs Aren't.

Incentives and interconnection queues reward the prepared. Scope the system now and be ready when the window opens.

Tell Us About the Site

One business day to an engineer's reply — site, goal, and rough scale is all we need to start the math.

Scope a System