Project Profile: La Joya Wind Project
Project Timeline: Currently under construction, to be finished by end of 2020.
Wind has always been a powerful thing in this state and, if you live in Torrance County, you know exactly what I am talking about. While the Manzano Mountains can create a barrier that blocks some wind into Valencia and Bernalillo Counties, most of this wind hits the hardest in Torrance, Lincoln, and Guadalupe Counties. Because of this Torrance County has three, and hopefully soon to be four, wind farms.
Torrance County’s economy relies on revenue from Cibola National Forest tourism and the Albuquerque metro area. Towns on the outskirts of the county, however, are in need of more economic support to supplement their income. Like the Clines Corners Wind Farm Project (check out this blog post I wrote), the La Joya Wind Farm will also provide jobs, energy, and sustainability to the future of New Mexico. The project will diversify the job force of Torrance, and make Torrance County a renewable energy hub.
The Public Regulation Commission (PRC) approved the location and building of the La Joya Wind Farm.1 Construction should be done by December 2020. The first stage of development will send energy to the Facebook Data Center in Los Lunas and later to homes across New Mexico.