FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
August 28, 2019
Contact: Matt Baca
(505) 270-7148 (Balderas)
Aaron Morales
(202) 228-1578 (Heinrich)
Albuquerque, NM– Attorney General Hector Balderas and U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich
(D-N.M.) issued the following statements after Xcel Energy announced that
construction on the 522-megawatt Sagamore Wind Project in Roosevelt County will
move forward this year. The $900 million project will be New Mexico’s largest wind
farm, and once completed will provide enough clean, affordable electricity to power
close to 194,000 typical homes annually.
“The Sagamore project is a great step toward a better future for New Mexico, and it will
also mean critical investment in local businesses and students who will lead the energy
industry into the future,” said Attorney General Balderas. “I am pleased with the
commitment that Xcel made to my office and the State of New Mexico to truly invest in
local businesses and to grow New Mexico’s workforce.”
“I have been working with Xcel on the Sagamore Wind Project for years and this
announcement is incredible news for New Mexico,” said Heinrich. “The Sagamore Wind
Project represents nearly $1 billion of private investment in eastern New Mexico, and it
will create up to 400 construction jobs and as many as 30 full-time operations and
technician careers. Local public schools in Dora and Portales will receive millions of
dollars in funding from tax revenue generated over the lifetime of the project. That
unprecedented level of private sector investment and economic growth is what every
new wind project can and will bring to rural communities throughout our state.
Heinrich added, “I will keep doing everything I can to meet New Mexico’s full potential
as a wind energy powerhouse. If we make the right choices now, we will continue to
attract billions of dollars of private investment to our state and create thousands of new
careers in rural communities.”