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Wind Power News: New Mexico
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational effort to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Renewables company pleads guilty, must pay $8 million for wind-turbine deaths of 150 eagles
A renewable-energy company subsidiary pleaded guilty on federal criminal charges Tuesday and ordered to pay $8 million in fines and restitution for killing more than 150 eagles at wind farms in eight states. In addition ESI Energy, a subsidiary of renewables giant NextEra Energy, received five years of probation on three counts of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act stemming from the deaths of nine eagles in wind farms in Wyoming and New Mexico. Golden and bald eagles at 50 . . . Complete story »
Wind energy company kills 150 eagles in US, pleads guilty
A subsidiary of one of the largest U.S. providers of renewable energy pleaded guilty to criminal charges and was ordered to pay over $8 million in fines and restitution after at least 150 eagles were killed at its wind farms in eight states, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. NextEra Energy subsidiary ESI Energy was also sentenced to five years probation after being charged with three counts of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act during a court appearance in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The . . . Complete story »
NM wind project creating the ‘Route 66 of renewable energy’
Guadalupe, Lincoln and Torrance counties are now collectively supporting the electricity needs of nearly 1 million people through a massive new wind farm and transmission line in central New Mexico. Pattern Energy officially dedicated its Western Spirit wind project in late February after more than a decade of development. The project includes four sprawling wind farms with a total of 377 turbines scattered throughout the three counties. Together, they can generate more than a gigawatt of electricity, which Pattern Energy . . . Complete story »
Renewables yes, but at what a cost?
Much has been made about the benefits of the proposed Avangrid-Public Service Company of New Mexico merger. However, the costs to ratepayers are substantial. If the merger (i.e. acquisition), is approved, PNM will be a subsidiary, not partner, to Avangrid. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to police the holding companies of Avangrid and its Spain parent company, Iberdrola; the Avangrid/Iberdrola affiliates, business spinoffs, would remain most significantly outside of the regulation of the Public Regulation Commission. As Avangrid . . . Complete story »
Energy companies accused of bid rigging and racketeering in US lawsuit
A cybersecurity company filed a $110m lawsuit in New York this week, accusing the Spanish global energy company Iberdrola and its US subsidiary Avangrid of bid rigging and racketeering. The 72-page federal court complaint outlines an elaborate scheme by Iberdrola executives to generate millions of dollars in wasteful equipment expenditures in order to turn a profit from its utility customers in New York, Connecticut and Maine. The lawsuit further alleges that much of this equipment was never put to use . . . Complete story »
The coming transformation of Luna County
Plans to develop wind and solar farms in Luna County started long before 2009 when some residents started to become aware that something was going on. In order to develop Luna County and other areas in New Mexico for the transition to wind and solar as the main source of electrical energy, transmission lines were needed to service the areas where the wind and solar farms would be developed. Sunzia was created in 2006 to address the lack of transmission . . . Complete story »
Rarely heard of, officials wield power over New Mexico utilities
Bill Herrmann went to an audiologist for a hearing test a few years back and, when asked about his line of work, responded that he was a hearing examiner. The audiologist expressed delight in finding a comrade in the profession, but Herrmann had to correct him. Hermann was a different kind of hearing examiner. Now retired after 30 years with the Public Regulation Commission as a hearing examiner, Herrmann was in a far different business. His profession requires both keen . . . Complete story »
Prairie-chicken listing expected to put wind farms in crosshairs
A Biden administration proposal to list the lesser prairie-chicken as endangered in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico could stymie oil and gas development in the largest U.S. petroleum basin, environmental attorneys say. And one warns it could devastate another energy source—wind power. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the proposal to grant Endangered Species Act protection for the imperiled lesser prairie-chicken by listing it as endangered in the Permian Basin and threatened in a region centered . . . Complete story »
PRC staffer raises concerns about proposed merger
A company hoping to merge with Public Service Company of New Mexico already has two wind projects in the state, both of which dodged certain requirements early on, said a staffer from a regulatory agency. John Reynolds of the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission has written that Avangrid, a Connecticut-based renewable energy company, needs to “address its regulatory shortcuts in New Mexico” before it wins approval to merge with PNM. The alleged shortcuts at the Torrance County wind farms are . . . Complete story »
A nearly 300-megawatt wind farm is in the works in Quay and Curry counties
The developer of a nearly 300-megawatt wind farm is seeking location approval from the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission. The Grady Martin Wind Project would encompass more than 37,000 acres of land in Quay and Curry counties just north of the Village of Grady. The PRC unanimously approved a schedule for the location application during its meeting on Wednesday that was conducted remotely via Zoom. The order requires Grady Martin Wind, which is partnering with the Virginia-based company Apex Clean . . . Complete story »
