Wind, Solar Look Sunnier than Coal in New Mexico as State Weighs Fate of San Juan Plant

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Arizona made headlines this week with the closure of the largest coal-fired power plant in the U.S., but its neighbor New Mexico is wrestling with its own efforts to transition away from the fossil fuel. One of the biggest fights has participants in roles opposite of what many might expect: a plant owner that wants to shut down its facility, and regulators who the owner alleges are hindering the closure. Industrial Info is tracking $11.5 billion in active power-generation projects in New Mexico, the bulk of which is attributed to renewable-sourced generation.

Click on the image at right to see a graph detailing the top 10 New Mexico counties for power-generation projects, by investment value.

PNM Resources Incorporated plans to close northwestern New Mexico's coal-fired San Juan Generating Station in 2022, but claims the state's Public Regulation Commission is not following the state's Energy Transition Act, signed into law earlier this year, according to the Las Cruces Sun. The law includes low-interest financing that could help PNM recoup its investment in the facility and sets aggressive goals for renewable-energy development within New Mexico.

In response to allegations that they are moving too slowly, regulators say they are trying to decide if the law trumps its own ongoing evaluation of how the plant's closure would affect the state, according to the Sun, including to what extent the heavy costs of the transition would be carried by the electric utility's customers. For more information on the 895-megawatt (MW) San Juan Generating Station, see Industrial Info's plant profile.

Wind-sourced energy accounts for most of the current investment value in power-generation projects planned for New Mexico, with two big-ticket projects nearing construction: Xcel Energy Incorporated's (NASDAQ:XEL) (Minneapolis, Minnesota) $865 million Sagamore wind project near Portales, which would generate 522 MW from more than 260 wind turbines, and Iberdrola S.A.'s (Bilbao, Spain) $273.9 million LaJoya Windfarm near Estancia, which would produce 166 MW from 83 turbines. Both are expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2020.

A smaller-capacity wind project began construction this summer: NextEra Energy Incorporated's (NYSE:NEE) (Juno Beach, Florida) $75 million repowering of the High Lonesome Mesa Windfarm in Willard, which will replace 40 existing turbines with more efficient, less costly models from General Electric (NYSE:GE). It is expected to wrap up by the end of the year. For more information, see Industrial Info's reports on the Sagamore, LaJoya and High Lonesome projects.

Two other proposed wind-energy facilities are set to begin construction next year: Triangle Gallegos, a joint venture between Triangle Cattle Company Limited (Nazareth, Texas) and Gallegos Wind Farm LLC (Larkspur, Colorado), is preparing to build the estimated $297 million Don Carlos Windfarm in Greenville, and NextEra is planning the estimated $165 million Borderlands Windfarm in Quemado. The facilities are expected to generate 180 and 100 MW, respectively, upon completion. For more information, see Industrial Info's reports on the Don Carlos and Borderlands projects.

Solar-energy projects proposed for New Mexico include Invenergy LLC's (Chicago, Illinois) estimated $230 million Tip Top Solar Facility near Jal, which would generate 220 MW from about 700,000 crystalline silicon panels, and NextEra's estimated $75 million Route 66 Solar Plant near San Fidel, which would generate 50 MW from photovoltaic panels. For more information, see Industrial Info's reports on the Tip Top and Route 66 projects.

In addition to the above-mentioned capital-spending projects, Industrial Info is tracking more than $40 million in maintenance-related projects planned for power-generation facilities across New Mexico. Click here for a list.

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