February 23, 2008
New Mexico
New Mexico
Clovis city commissioners voted unanimously this week to move toward creating a six megawatt wind farm on land near the city landfill.
The commissioners’ decision would allow the city to request bids for the wind generators and find funding for the project estimated to cost $10 million.
Commissioner Randal Crowder said the city can try and piggy back on wind projects near the city to offset some expenses.
Crowder said the power the wind farm would generate is more than the city needs. He said the project could save the city about $850,000 a year in electricity. He said the city could then sell the excess energy to Xcel Energy, which has a substation equipped with transmission and distribution lines near the proposed wind farm site.
“(The project) will pay for itself,” he said. “Once the project is paid off, the city has created a huge revenue stream without raising taxes.”
Crowder said there are grants available for wind energy projects the city can apply for.
“This is green energy, we’re not (burning) fossil fuels, we’re not polluting. So there are grants available,” he said.
23 February 2008
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2008/02/23/clovis-oks-plan-for-its-wind-farm/