Xcel Energy announced Wednesday that the Sagamore Wind Project — a 522-megawatt wind farm across 100,000 acres of New Mexican prairie — is complete to serve New Mexico and Texas customers. With a price tag of nearly $900 million, the sprawling project will be able to power nearly 194,000 homes annually. The construction of the project employed over 500 workers, most of them employed by North Dakota-based Wanzek Construction who was selected as the the project builder by Xcel. The facility did create 25 full time positions, according to a news release from the company, that will employ New Mexicans as well as pumping in nearly $500 million into vendors in New Mexico and Texas for the project. Xcel announced in May of 2017 that it would be investing $1.5 billion in New Mexico and Texas over the next three years to support long-term growth in the area, with the bulk of the money going to new substations and transmission lines.

“The completion of the Sagamore Wind Project is proof that eastern New Mexico is rapidly becoming one of the best places in the world to produce wind energy,” said Sen. Martin Heinrich in a statement. “As we look for the best ways to rebuild our economy in New Mexico and across the nation in the face of the challenges brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, we absolutely need to double down on wind energy. Wind projects like Sagamore bring millions of dollars of private investment to our state and create hundreds of new jobs in our rural communities. Let’s build on the success of Sagamore and keep moving our energy economy forward.” Click HERE to read more.