"A vast sea of wind turbines is in the works for hundreds of thousands of acres near Corona and surrounding Lincoln, Guadalupe and Torrance counties that could more than double the wind power generation in New Mexico and provide enough electricity for every home in the state.

San Francisco-based Pattern Energy Group is poised to develop some 3,000 megawatts of wind power in the Corona area, 113 miles south of Santa Fe. New Mexico has installed wind capacity of 1,952 MW, according to the American Wind Energy Association.

Pattern Energy’s Western Spirit Wind project could catapult New Mexico into the top 10 wind-power-producing states from its perch at No. 16. With a relatively sparse population, New Mexico already ranks No. 8 among states with 19.4 percent of all energy produced in the state coming from wind power, the association reports.

At 3,000 MW, Western Spirit Wind could dwarf the nation’s largest windmill farm, the 1,548 MW Alta Wind Energy Center in Southern California’s Tehachapi Pass."

Teya Vitu reports for the Santa Fe New Mexican June 22, 2020. [2]