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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.
Proposed wind turbine project in Eddy County has many dangers
Proposed wind turbine project in Eddy County has many dangers On March 28, EDF Renewables North America, a division of a French global energy conglomerate, announced the Oso Grande Wind Project, to be “located in southeastern New Mexico.” It includes a total of 61 wind generating turbines. The turbines’ electricity outputs “will be delivered to Tucson (Arizona) through existing transmission lines that connect to TEP’s transmission system in eastern Arizona,” (according to www.edf-re.com). To be clear, I like the French . . . Complete story »
GE probes third turbine collapse at US wind farms this year
A GE turbine has collapsed at a wind farm in Nebraska, marking the third such incident involving its turbines in the US this year – although Recharge understands investigations of the two earlier failures suggests no common factor behind the spate of dramatic topplings. The latest turbine came down on 5 July at Invenergy’s 200MW Upstream Wind Energy Center, which only began operations at the beginning of 2019. Nobody was injured by the collapse of the GE 2.5-116 turbine at . . . Complete story »
Renewable energy not as promising as some would like you to think
Peter Goodman’s June 16th guest column revealed how little he knows about electrical engineering or how renewables will destabilize our electric grid. Instead, Goodman focused on smearing Rep. Rod Montoya’s and Larry Behrens’ earlier editorials. Yet it was Montoya who attempted to protect New Mexicans from electric rate increases of 100 and 200 percent(!) as a result of the “Energy Transition Act” (ETA) recently passed. Montoya’s amendments would have limited yearly electric rate increases, saving poor and middle class rate-payers . . . Complete story »
New Mexico ranchers fighting construction of major transmission line
Some New Mexico dairy farmers are fighting to keep a massive power line off their property. They said it could hurt their property value, their views, and even their cows and your milk. The open space of land in Bosque, New Mexico is where people said those high voltage transmission lines will be built, and they’ve started a petition to stop it. “It’s an eyesore, it’s a health scare, they’re ugly, they’re going to ruin our scenery, our lands, our . . . Complete story »
US wind turbine collapses ‘not linked’, says GE
GE Renewable Energy said it is treating the collapse of two of its machines within months as “separate and isolated incidents”, as latest research on the issue seen by Recharge says the wind industry needs a better understanding of the complex interaction of factors that can bring turbines down. A GE 2.4-107 turbine crumpled to the ground at the Chisholm View 2 wind farm in Oklahoma last week, prompting the launch of an investigation at the project, which entered service . . . Complete story »
Oso Grande wind farm project receives approval from county commissioners
A large wind farm project has cleared one of its hurdles toward a construction start, with the Chaves County Board of Commissioners approving its special use permit. The New Mexico State Land Office also held a public hearing regarding the project’s transmission lines in two counties. The commissioners voted unanimously Thursday to grant the special use permit for Oso Grande Wind LLC, a project of EDF Renewables North America based in Oakland, California. The venture will build 31 wind turbines, . . . Complete story »
Charge to Facebook stands
The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission on Thursday unanimously rejected motions to reconsider a decision to charge Facebook nearly half the cost of a new $85 million transmission line. Public Service Company of New Mexico and two other intervenors in the case had asked the five-member commission to reconsider its mid-April decision, which said PNM could not charge general ratepayers anything for building the transmission line. That decision was based on testimony by a utility executive during hearings in February . . . Complete story »
PRC transmission line re-hearing set for Thursday
The state Public Regulation Commission will discuss this Thursday whether it should reconsider its decision to charge Facebook nearly half the cost of a new $85 million transmission line. The PRC ordered Public Service Company of New Mexico in April to bill Facebook $39 million for the line and recover the remaining costs from wholesale customers, prohibiting any charges on general ratepayers. That’s because a PNM executive testified during hearings in February that the line would only serve Facebook by . . . Complete story »
Wind farm project gains initial approval
The Chaves County Planning and Zoning Commission has recommended approval of a permit for a planned $300 million wind farm. The special use permit application by Oso Grande Wind Farm LLC, a part of EDF Renewables North America based in California, for the construction of 32 wind turbines and one alternate turbine, gen-ties and a substation near the Caprock area northeast of Roswell will now head to a public hearing before the Chaves County Board of Commissioners. That is scheduled . . . Complete story »
Chairman: Wind turbines will forever change Corona community
Representatives of Pattern Development detailed for Lincoln County commissioners the positive impacts of the Corona area wind projects from jobs, to more revenue for schools and municipalities, and the long-term gains of families living in the community at the northern border of the county. But when the commission meeting ended last week, Commission Chairman Preston Stone issued a warning that development of wind farms and transmission lines will forever change the nature of the area. “I’ve sat here for the . . . Complete story »
