New Mexico to get another wind farm

A fourth wind farm could be coming to New Mexico’s Torrance County whose northern reaches include Interstate 40.

Torrance County commissioners are expected to approve an industrial revenue bond next month to fund the county’s fourth wind farm, La Joya 2, west of Encino.

“There is a lot of wind here,” Torrance County manager Wayne Johnson told KQRE TV. “We have got a lot of land and a lot of sunshine.”

Torrance County is one of the windiest spots in the state. Johnson said that plus the county’s smaller population makes it ideal for wind turbines. He said the farms will rake in an estimated combined total of around $2 million annually for Torrance County for decades to come.

“We have specific needs like fire and EMS,” Johnson said. “This provides the county with another resource to fund those services that everybody across Torrance County needs.”

Torrance County is not the only place in New Mexico experiencing a boom in wind energy. There are at least nine wind farms across eight counties including Cibola, Curry and Guadalupe.

The wind energy would be delivered to PNM’s Clines Corners substation, then transmitted to tens of thousands of homes in New Mexico.