By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent
It’s stories like this that remind us all how corporates are going to drive solar adoption in many solar-reluctant states. New Mexico, which has had a contentious relationship with solar, is going to add 100 MW of solar in order to serve the electricity needs of a corporation of which you may have heard.
PNM Resources’ New Mexico utility, PNM, received approval on Wednesday from the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (NMPRC) to purchase 100 megawatts of solar generation from NM Renewable Development, LLC (NMRD) in order to continue serving the Facebook data center in the state with 100 percent renewable energy. This addition supports the goal to achieve a more sustainable energy portfolio at PNM.
“Opportunities for solar energy are abundant in New Mexico, and Facebook’s growth allows us to demonstrate our commitment to making our state a sustainable energy leader,” said Pat Vincent-Collawn, chairman, president and CEO of PNM Resources. “We are proud to support Facebook’s presence in our state.”
NMRD, a joint venture between subsidiaries of PNM Resources and American Electric Power, will build two 50 megawatt solar photovoltaic generation facilities in New Mexico. The first facility is expected to be operational by the end of 2019, followed by the second facility in June 2020. Each facility is expected to result in approximately $70 million of investment in New Mexico and create approximately 200 construction jobs.
“With these two new projects, we have worked with PNM to bring 396 megawatts of new wind and solar projects that will contribute to a greener grid and help bring more renewable energy and investment to New Mexico,” said Bobby Hollis, Head of Global Energy at Facebook. “We appreciate the state’s supportive environment that has enabled us to procure this amount of renewable energy so quickly.”
Solar and wind projects constructed to serve Facebook are expected to total approximately $800 million of investment in New Mexico and create over 1,300 construction and permanent jobs, representing significant economic development in Valencia, Bernalillo, Quay, Torrance, Cibola and Sandoval counties.
The agreements are subject to approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.