CEAC-2019-11-November

NEWS
Renewable Energy Firm Doubles Down
on Western Wind Projects By SusanMontoya Bryan
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A California-based renewable
energy developer plans to increase by seven-fold its investments
as it prepares to build more wind farms in New Mexico
over the next several years.
A recent analysis commissioned by Pattern Development
shows a $1.2 billion economic impact from its wind farms
in eastern New Mexico and West Texas. That’s hundreds of
millions of dollars more than what was initially projected in
2015 before development began and bodes well for what
the state can expect in benefits from future construction,
company officials said.
“I think New Mexico really has a chance to be a leader here
in what’s going to come nationally, which is a growing renewable
energy penetration as part of our energy mix,” Cary
Kottler, vice president of North American development for
Pattern Development, said during a recent interview.
The aim is investing in renewable energy to both serve the
Pump jacks and wind turbines are visible inside of a cotton field near Lamesa,
Texas. A California-based renewable energy developer plans to increase
by seven-fold its investments as it prepares to build more wind farms in
the heart of New Mexico over the next several years. An analysis commissioned
by Pattern Development shows a $1.2 billion economic impact from
its wind farms in eastern New Mexico and West Texas, surpassing initial
projections. (Edyta Blaszczyk/Odessa American via AP, File)
demands of the sparsely populated state and export the
electricity to bigger markets in the West, he said.
Some of the wind projects have been planned for years, but
regulatory pressure is mounting as New Mexico and other
states adopt tougher renewable energy mandates in an
effort to phase out coal- and natural gas-fired power plants
and reduce pollution.
New Mexico has set its emissions-free deadline for public
utilities at 2045. The state’s largest utility, Public Service Co.
of New Mexico, has vowed to beat that by five years, saying
it will shutter its coal and natural gas plants and replace the
lost power with a mix of solar, wind and battery technology.
Xcel Energy, which provides electricity to customers in parts
of New Mexico and Texas, also is investing millions of dollars
in wind farms, substations and transmission lines.
(Continued on page 31)
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