New Mexico's largest electricity provider is celebrating the latest addition to its renewable energy portfolio — a solar farm in Alamogordo that's capable of producing up to 5 megawatts of power.
Public Service Company of New Mexico, a unit of PNM Resources Inc., says the 50-acre solar farm is made up of 78,000 photovoltaic panels. Over the course of a year, the panels are expected to generate enough electricity for about 1,600 average-sized New Mexico homes.
The Alamogordo Solar Energy Center is the fourth of five solar plants PNM will complete this year. The others are located in Albuquerque, Los Lunas, Deming and Las Vegas.
The five plants will help the utility meet New Mexico's renewable energy portfolio standard, which requires that 10 percent of energy provided to customers come from renewable resources.