Archive for the ‘Borderplex Expansions’ Category

Release Courtesy of the Governor’s Office

January 8, 2010
Alarie Ray-Garcia (505) 476-2248

SANTA FE- Governor Bill Richardson today announced Johnson Plate and Tower will build a wind tower manufacturing facility in Santa Teresa. The facility is expected to create dozens of construction jobs and 150 permanent jobs.

“I am pleased that Johnson Plate and Tower chose New Mexico to build its new wind tower manufacturing plant and plans to create 150 new jobs in our state,” Governor Richardson said. “This announcement shows that our aggressive efforts to create jobs, especially during this global recession, are paying off. Manufacturing of green technology is an important component of building a green jobs economy here in New Mexico.”

Today President Obama announced that Johnson Plate and Tower is one 183 projects that will share $2.3 billion in Recovery Act Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credits for clean energy manufacturing projects across the United States. Johnson Plate and Tower was awarded $2,385,000 in credits for its Santa Teresa facility.

Johnson Plate and Tower will build its more than 84,000 square-foot manufacturing facility on 22 acres in the Verde Logistics Park. The company expects to employ 40-50 people during the construction phase and then move to a full time operation employing 150 people in the manufacturing of wind towers for wind farms across the country.

“We are excited that Johnson Plate and Tower chose to locate in our growing industrial border-plex region here in New Mexico,” Economic Secretary Fred Mondragon said. “I want to commend Dona Ana County for the passage of the Local Economic Development Act that helped make this project possible.”

Release Courtesy of New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson

SANTA FE - Governor Bill Richardson today commended Sapphire Energy, Inc. for a successful application to the U.S. Department of Energy for a grant to launch a new multi-million dollar algae biofuels demonstration project in Luna County, New Mexico.

Sapphire Energy has been awarded a $50 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy as well as a loan guarantee of $54.5 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The San Diego-based company plans to build a demonstration project in Luna County near Columbus and Deming. The company also has a research and development complex in Las Cruces.

The grant award is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the loan guarantee is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Biorefinery Assistance Program, authorized through the 2008 Farm Bill.

“Investments in advanced biofuels are crucial to improve America’s energy independence and to keep energy dollars at home,” Governor Richardson said. “This project will create jobs, invest in new technology and boost the economy in rural New Mexico.”

The project is being funded to demonstrate the technology developed by Sapphire Energy to produce a large scale algae facility which cultivates algae in open ponds to produce Green Crude which can be refined into fuels.

The project is expected to create 750 direct and indirect jobs. Sapphire has an option to buy roughly 2,200 acres of land near Columbus. With the infusion of capital from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the company plans to build a demonstration project to validate the economics of large scale algae to energy production. As part of the project the company also plans to set up an extraction facility to convert the oil from the algae into Green Crude which can be refined into a variety of fuels.

“Governor Richardson is a true advocate for smarter energy resources,” Sapphire Chief Executive Officer Jason Pyle said. “His leadership has played a crucial role in the federal grant funding for our algae-based fuel work. This is a win-win for New Mexico, Luna County, and Sapphire Energy.”

Article Courtesy of the New Mexico Partnership

Map of the Santa Teresa-El Paso-Juarez region depicting the new Border Highway Extension

Recently, the remaining 7.2 miles of the unpaved road stretching west from the border highway in Anapra, formally called, “Prolongación del Boulevard Fronterizo” or “Border Highway Extension” to the Santa Teresa Port of Entry was paved. This road consists of two fully paved lanes with an additional two lanes slated for completion within the next few months. This newly completed road runs parallel to the border fence, connecting the Santa Teresa Port of Entry to Border Highway, sometimes referred to as the Rivereño in downtown Juarez.  A vehicle traveling from Santa Teresa Port of Entry can now arrive at the City Hall in Juarez in less than 20 minutes.

This infrastructure improvement will help reduce the traffic congestion at the El Paso-Juarez international bridges. Commercial traffic generated by maquiladoras located in this corridor can now expedite their flow of materials by utilizing this efficient route between the U.S. and Mexico.

J.H. Rose Logistics is an American owned national transportation and logistics provider, handling over 30,000 shipments per year. The company has offices located across the country including a 44,000 square foot facility in the Santa Teresa Logistics Park in Santa Teresa, New Mexico.  They have been named a “Best Broker” by the National Association of Trucking Companies in recognition of outstanding credit practices and are an approved carrier by the Department of Defense. The company is also a member of the Transportation Intermediaries Association and the Platinum Performance Program, two organizations committed to integrity and ethical business practices.

J.H. Rose Logistics was presented as a success story and model company at the recent NAFTA Institute Trade Conference.

The Office of Mexican Affairs of the New Mexico Economic Development Department, the New Mexico Partnership and the International Business Accelerator assisted J.H. Rose Logistics with their expansion to Santa Teresa in 2007.

For more information about J.H. Rose Logistics visit their website or see their video on YouTube.

The June 11th announcement by El Paso Electric and NRG Energy that a 92-megawatt solar-thermal plant will be built in Santa Teresa,  New Mexico is the latest announced renewable energy project slated for construction in Dona Ana County.   According to articles in the Las Cruces Sun-News and the Las Cruces Bulletin, the plant will be located near the Santa Teresa Port of Entry and Verde Corporate Realty’s industrial parks in Santa Teresa. The plant will use technology developed by eSolar, a California company El Paso Electric picked to develop a solar project for the utility.

The solar project announcement follows an announcement by R-Qubed Energy that it plans to build a $75 million biogas plant between Vado and Berino. The plant will convert cow manure from the local dairies into methane gas. The gas will be sold to PNM. Other by-products from the plant will include fertilizer, compost and recycled effluent water for re-use on farms. The announcement was one of the front-page stories in the June 5 edition of the New Mexico Business Weekly. Sapphire Energy’s $100 million investment in green crude from algae was also covered on the front-page of the edition.