Eddy County, New Mexico Kicks Off 53.5 Megawatt Solar Plant

    CARLSBAD, NM, September 22, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Carlsbad Department of Development (CDOD) is pleased to announce the opening of 53.5 MW solar plants southeastern New Mexico. The plants are a culmination of work between SPS/Xcel Energy, SunEdison, Lea and Eddy counties. The opening of the plants kicked off in Eddy County, home to one of the five plants in New Mexico.

With well over 300 days of sunshine on average per year, and because of its geographic location, Carlsbad, located in Eddy County, New Mexico, is a prime location for solar initiatives. The project with SPS/Xcel and SunEdison is the result of several months of site locating culminating in the 53.5 MW plants in both Lea and Eddy counties.

"As the first solar park of this size to go online in New Mexico, SunEdison is going to be setting the pace for other projects to come," said New Mexico State Representative Cathrynn Brown.

The combined solar power plants will produce over 109 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy in the first full year of operation and over 1.9 million megawatt hours (MWh) over 20 years. The system offset is equivalent to removing over 288,000 cars off the road for one year after 20 years of production. These plants produce enough energy over a 20 year term to power over 186,000 average US homes for one year. The combined plants will use over 192,000 solar panels.

"We are excited to have this in southeastern New Mexico," said Jeff Campbell, marketing director for the CDOD. "It's great to see the project come to life with SPS/Xcel and SunEdison."

The Carlsbad Department of Development is a member supported non-profit organization. Members represent over 100 chief executive officers in industry, business and finance, the City of Carlsbad, Eddy County Board of Commissioners, New Mexico State University-Carlsbad, and other organizations. The Carlsbad Department of Development is your first contact for business assistance in Carlsbad and South Eddy County.

The Carlsbad Department of Development promotes the economic and general welfare of the citizens of the City of Carlsbad and South Eddy County, New Mexico.

Website: http://www.developcarlsbad.org

# # #