Onshore

New Mexico: The new wind power capital?

New Mexico: The new wind power capital?
GE Vernova will supply Pattern Energy with turbines for its SunZia Wind project (courtesy: GE Vernova)

New Mexico is one of the hottest places in the United States for wind generation (literally and metaphorically), and two new leases awarded to major projects will continue to bolster the state’s growing portfolio as it builds out the SunZia Wind and Transmission project.

Today New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands Stephanie Garcia Richard executed a pair of long-term leases for projects on state lands. One was awarded to EDF Renewables to develop a wind energy project on 23,840 acres in Grant County; a second lease was awarded to Innergex Renewable Energy for a wind project on 12,192 acres in Hidalgo County.

When it’s finished, the EDF project is expected to generate around 400 MW of wind energy, making it the second-largest wind project on New Mexico state lands, trailing only Pattern Energy’s massive Western Spirit Wind, which has 1,050 MW of installed capacity encompassing four sites in Central New Mexico. Garcia Richard signed off on that project as well, in 2020.

Innergex’s new wind farm is expected to put out about 150 MW. Bids for each lease were unsealed at public auctions at the State Land Office building in Santa Fe, per Garcia Richard.

“We are continuing to help the renewable energy sector grow with each major wind or solar deal on state lands. The fact that there were multiple qualified bidders on both of these leases shows that companies are taking us seriously when we say we are open for business,” Commissioner Garcia Richard said. “New Mexico is blessed with plenty of wind and sun, as well as nine million acres of state lands, making us well-positioned to expand our renewable portfolio even more. These wind projects will provide real, long-term revenue to help make a difference in New Mexico’s classrooms.”

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Commissioner Garcia Richard created the first-ever Office of Renewable Energy within the Commercial Resources Division at the State Land Office intending to triple renewable energy leasing and production on state trust lands. The Office has exceeded initial expectations, as renewable energy on New Mexico state lands has increased more than six-fold since its inception- growing from 400 MW when Commissioner Garcia Richard assumed office to about 2.5 GW of wind and solar energy under lease today.

Here comes the Sun(Zia)

According to the American Clean Power Associations’s Clean Power Quarterly for Q1 2024, New Mexico had installed the second-most wind power capacity in the country year to date, trailing only Wyoming.

Courtesy: American Clean Power Association | Clean Power Quarterly 2024 Q1

Texas and California were the top two states for under-construction projects, with 18.9 GW and 8.6 GW, respectively. New Mexico (5.2 GW), Wyoming (5.1 GW), and Arizona (4.7 GW) round out the top five states for under-construction clean power capacity, per ACP’s report.

We can expect to see New Mexico remain near the top as Pattern constructs its game-changing SunZia Wind and Transmission project; both new wind lease areas intersect its transmission line.

Wind lease areas EW-0111 (left) and EW-0113 (right) are shown shaded in red. The Southline Transmission Line is indicated in black, the SunZia Transmission Line in blue. Courtesy: New Mexico State Land Office

SunZia Transmission is a 550-mile ± 525 kV high-voltage direct current transmission line between central New Mexico and south-central Arizona with the capacity to transport clean power all the way out to California. It will utilize Pattern’s 3.5 GW SunZia Wind project, the largest wind project in the Western Hemisphere, which will be simultaneously constructed alongside SunZia Transmission. Pattern Energy recently announced that the projects are expected to generate $20.5 billion in total economic benefit, including more than $8 billion in direct capital investment, at no added cost to ratepayers, according to the results of an independent study conducted by the research firm Energy, Economic & Environment Consultants LLC. 

Pattern Energy broke ground on the project last September, and it’s expected to come online in 2026. In June, a U.S. district judge dismissed claims by Native American tribes and environmentalists who sought to halt construction along part of the $10 billion energy line, asserting the plaintiffs were years too late in bringing their challenge.