SANTA FE, N.M. – New Mexico Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard has issued a lease for a wind farm repower in Chaves and Roosevelt counties following a public auction. Clearway Energy Group (“Clearway”) submitted a bid of $1.5 million at a public auction June 10 for the lease rights, doubling the minimum required bid of $750,000. When completed, the repower project is expected to increase the output of the existing San Juan Mesa Wind Farm, generating 135 megawatts of clean electricity, enough to power about 85,000 homes, and will generate $27.5 million for New Mexico’s public schools and specialty schools (including the New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired and the New Mexico School for the Deaf) over the lifetime of the lease.
As part of the project, Clearway will replace 46 aging wind turbines on the leased state land with 14 new, more efficient turbines containing American-made components, reducing the overall footprint of the project. Each new turbine will be able to generate more than four times as much electricity as one existing turbine, producing even more clean power for the local energy grid. The existing turbines were erected under a previous lease that has been voluntarily relinquished, and have been operating since 2005.
“We are continuing to help New Mexico make the transition to cleaner domestic forms of energy, one state land lease at a time,” said Commissioner Garcia Richard. “New Mexico has all of the wind and sun power needed to be a national leader in renewable energy. While serving as Land Commissioner, I have prioritized renewable projects big and small to generate record revenue for our public institutions and serve New Mexicans directly through our community solar leases. The historic winning bid we got for this lease shows that renewable energy companies have taken notice of the prime opportunities available on state lands and they are willing to pay up to secure those lands for their projects. On top of that, this project will feature new wind turbine technology that is much more efficient than the existing infrastructure and uses a smaller amount of state land. I’m happy New Mexicans are going to benefit from renewable projects like this one for many decades to come.”
“Repowering San Juan Mesa Wind means doing more with less: generating more clean, reliable electricity for the local grid while extending local economic benefits on a site with a proven wind resource,” said John Woody, Chief Development Officer at Clearway Energy. “We are especially proud that our lease payments will keep funding New Mexico schools with reliable revenue for decades to come.”
Commissioner Garcia Richard created the first-ever Office of Renewable Energy at the State Land Office with the goal of tripling renewable energy leasing and production on state trust lands. The agency has far exceeded initial expectations, as renewable energy on state lands has increased more than eight-fold since 2019.
When Commissioner Garcia Richard assumed office, there were about 400 megawatts of renewable energy under lease on state lands. After signing the most recent agreement, there are now approximately 3,406 megawatts of wind and solar energy under lease on state lands throughout New Mexico. In addition, there are now 57 long-term renewable energy leases at the State Land Office, up from 12 when Commissioner Garcia Richard took office in 2019.
Click here to view a map of wind projects on state lands.
Click here to view a map of solar projects on state lands.
Commissioner of Public Lands Stephanie Garcia Richard has overseen the New Mexico State Land Office since 2019. In that time the agency has earned over $15 billion for New Mexico public schools, hospitals, and universities. Over 13 million acres of state trust land are leased for a variety of uses, including ranching and farming, renewable energy, business development, mineral development, and outdoor recreation. The State Land Office has a dual mandate to use state trust land to financially support vital public institutions, while simultaneously working to protect the land for future generations.