New Mexico’s Largest Wind Farm Is Now Online

The Wind Farm Consists Of 240 Wind Turbines That Can Produce 522 Megawatts. The Turbines Are 460 Feet Tall.

New Mexico’s Largest Wind Farm Is Now Online
By Michelle Lewis

Xcel Energy’s self-build 522-MW Sagamore Wind Project in eastern New Mexico, on the Texas border, is now online. It’s New Mexico’s largest single wind farm. The Sagamore Wind Project was officially completed yesterday by Minneapolis-based utility holding company Xcel Energy. The wind farm consists of 240 wind turbines that can produce 522 megawatts. The turbines are 460 feet tall. New Mexico’s largest wind farm has enough electricity to power 194,000 homes. It sits on 100,000 acres, and around 98% of that land will continue to be used to produce agriculture.

Construction of Sagamore began in fourth quarter 2019. The project will create 30-40 full-time operations jobs. Financial benefits include increased tax revenue for school districts and counties and $89 million in lease payments for 175 local landowners. Xcel Energy, which provides energy to eight midwestern and western states, expects to provide 100% carbon-free energy to all customers by 2050. New Mexico passed an energy bill in March 2019 that set a goal of 100% carbon-free electricity by 2045. New Mexico governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said yesterday at a news conference about Sagamore’s completion:

This news was originally published at Electrek