2022-03-01 08:00:00
Texas wind energy beats out the nation and parts of the world
Texas’ journey to becoming a wind powerhouse could be a map for the many U.S. states that have substantial wind resources.
USA TODAY
Four wind farms capable of meeting the annual energy needs of 900,000 people went into service and celebrated their grand opening last week as New Mexico leaders hope to transition to widespread use of renewable energy.
Pattern Energy’s Western Spirit Wind power facilities were built in Lincoln, Guadalupe and Torrance counties in south-central New Mexico, totaling 1,050 megawatts of capacity between the four facilities.
The projects, along with the associated transmission, required 1,500 local workers during construction and will employ 50 workers to operate the facilities.
They were expected to generate about $3 million annually for the three counties, along with two local school districts in the area.
The grand opening was attended by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) both long-standing supporters of renewable energy generation and transmission expansions in New Mexico.
The development could lead to progress toward goals outlined in Lujan Grisham’s signature legislation the Energy Transition Act passed in 2019, the year she took office, calling for 100 percent carbon-free power in New Mexico by 2045.
She said renewable energy would not only assist New Mexico in mitigating the effects of pollution and climate change, but also help diversify its economy.
New Mexico is heavily reliant on the fossil fuel industry, which makes up about of its budget, but critics said that means the state is also vulnerable to volatility in the commodity-based market for extractive energy sources.
“This project is doing it all: creating good-paying jobs, providing clean power to New Mexico and beyond, and cutting emissions from the energy sector,” Lujan Grisham said.
“New Mexico is leading the pack – nationally and globally – in the renewable energy space. At the state level, at the county level, at the city level, at the village level, New Mexico is all in on the economic and environmental benefits this industry provides.”
Heinrich said the Wester Spirit project’s transmission line was an essential development to connect the four facilities, and allow renewable energy generated in rural areas to be delivered in urban centers and other states where demand is high.
The 155-mile line has a capacity of 345 kilavolts, owned and operated by Albuquerque-based utility company Public Service Company of New Mexico, developed jointly by Pattern and New Mexico’s Renewable Energy Transmission Authority.
One kilovolt is equal to 1,000 volts.
“The Western Spirit Transmission Line literally rewrote the energy landscape in New Mexico—allowing us to build four new utility-scale wind projects in central and eastern New Mexico that make up the largest single-phase wind project in all of North America,” Heinrich said.
“As we build more transformative infrastructure projects like this, New Mexico will grow our ability to export cleanly generated electrons to hungry energy markets in neighboring states and import thousands of good-paying jobs and billions of dollars of private investment back into our communities.”
Pattern reported the four projects would use a total of 377 wind turbines, ranging from 2.3 to 2.8 megawatts.
The wind projects will provide power to California through purchase agreements with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, San Jose Clean Energy, East Bay Community Energy and the California Choice Energy Authority and its member cities.
International energy company Uniper Global Commodities also signed on to purchase energy from Western Spirit, providing energy to New Mexico communities, per a news release.
Sam Liccardo, mayor of San Jose, California said the project would supply power to 186,000 homes in the city for the next 15 years.
“I’m proud that San José Clean Energy is helping invest in California’s renewable energy future so we can leave a more livable planet to future generations,” Liccardo said.
Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, [email protected] or @AdrianHedden on Twitter.
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