Heinrich, Balderas Announce Major Progress On Xcel Energy's Sagamore Wind Project
Construction will move forward on $900 million, 522-megawatt Sagamore Wind Project in Roosevelt County
WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 28, 2019) – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas 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.
“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.”
“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."
Senator Heinrich led a bipartisan effort in the Senate in 2015 to pass a multi-year extension of a wind production tax credit. That pro-growth tax policy has encouraged companies and investors to build major wind projects like Sagamore in New Mexico.
