U.S. Interior Department Approves NextEra’s 100-Megawatt Wind Project in New Mexico

The Bureau of Land Management on Aug. 14 issued a record of decision approving Borderlands Wind LLC’s 100-megawatt wind generating project, which consists of 34 turbines sited on 16,648 acres in New Mexico.

The wind farm would be built near Quemado, New Mexico and the Arizona-New Mexico border. The project will include larger versions of turbines with a maximum height of up to 630 feet. Ancillary facilities include access roads, underground collection lines, fiber-optic communication, electrical transmission distribution lines and a substation/switchyard in support of the turbines.

The project represents an investment of over $150 million in clean energy infrastructure in New Mexico and is expected to supply renewable energy to replace older fossil fuel energy resources. Tucson Electric Power Co., which serves customers in southern Arizona, has entered into a power purchase agreement for the output of the wind farm.

Borderlands Wind is a subsidiary of NextEra Energy.