By Diana M. Alba

LAS CRUCES – Squeezing in a stop here while en route to London, Virgin Galactic’s president and CEO told spaceport officials Tuesday that the company remains committed to basing its suborbital flight operations in New Mexico.

George Whitesides addressed the new board of directors of Spaceport America for the first time since an abrupt change in spaceport leadership that was carried out by Gov. Susana Martinez. It was also the first session attended by Spaceport Authority Executive Director Christine Anderson, hired last week by the board.

“The primary message we wanted to share, and the reason I’m here is to express a desire to continue to be a strong partner with the spaceport for the taxpayers of New Mexico,” Whitesides said. “We are all making a very big investment together.”

While addressing the board, Whitesides noted the state is planning to spend about $200 million in constructing the spaceport and said Virgin Galactic is “investing somewhere on the order of $400 million to develop its spaceflight vehicles.” “These are nontrivial investments,” he said. “We take this project very seriously at all levels. And the relationship between our organization and the state and particularly the Spaceport Authority and staff is going to be of critical importance as we drive to successful commercial operations over the coming years.”

Whitesides, a former chief of staff for NASA, was hired last year as CEO for Virgin Galactic, considered the spaceport’s anchor tenant company. This year, he was named president, too.

Spaceport board Chairman Rick Holdridge of Deming said he invited Whitesides to the board’s meeting during a teleconference soon after Anderson was hired on Feb. 28, and, “to his credit, he made it happen.” Holdridge said he didn’t pick up any new message Tuesday. “I very much appreciated his commitment to this new board,” he said. “They’re reiterating the commitment Virgin Galactic has to New Mexico in the form of having operations out of New Mexico.”

Virgin Galactic has signed a 20-year agreement with the state, committing to launch suborbital spaceflights from Spaceport America in southeastern Sierra County. Whitesides said the company is “very encouraged with the progress of Spaceport America.”

Construction of the $209 million spaceport is about 70 to 80 percent complete, Chad Rabon, a spaceport staff member, told the board Tuesday.

Martinez didn’t waste time making spaceport leadership changes upon taking office Jan. 1. She called for the resignations of the previous board, appointed by Gov. Bill Richardson, and former Director Rick Homans. The board was reappointed in February, but the abruptness of the change and the fact the agency was without a director or deputy director had stirred concern among some spaceport advocates. Martinez confirmed that at one point, billionaire Richard Branson – who heads Virgin Group, the parent company of Virgin Galactic – called and asked her to retain Homans as director.

Holdridge said he met Whitesides once before, when he flew in for a visit with him and state Economic Development Secretary Jon Barela. That was not long after Holdridge was appointed to the chairman post.

Branson said during a visit to the spaceport last fall that the company was expecting to launch its first suborbital flights from Spaceport America between mid-summer of this year and spring of 2012.

Tuesday, Whitesides said the company’s flight test program is progressing, but “we still have a ways to go.” Virgin Galactic plans to use a two-vehicle system, comprised of a carrier plane and a rocket-powered spaceship, to carry passengers to suborbital space.

In all, the carrier plane, WhiteKnightTwo, has completed 49 flights, Whitesides told the spaceport board. The spaceship’s rocket motor is being developed, but glide testing, in which the vehicle is carried aloft and released, is continuing, he said. “We’ve got four glide tests of the spaceship successfully completed,” he said. “A fifth will be coming up soon.”

Holdridge said Whitesides flew to the Las Cruces airport Tuesday morning on a charter plane, and then left from El Paso on his way to London.

Anderson was present at Tuesday’s meeting but deferred most presentations to spaceport staff, saying she’s still catching up to speed on the spaceport project. All but one member of the spaceport board were present in person at the meeting, held at New Mexico State University’s main campus. Board member Scott Krahling, also a Dona Ana County commissioner, didn’t attend because a county commission meeting was held at the same time.

Diana M. Alba can be reached at (575) 541-5443.

Rick Homans

By Diana M. Alba

LAS CRUCES – Spaceport America Director Rick Homans announced his resignation Wednesday, saying he’d been ordered to do so by the Gov. Susana Martinez administration.

Some Spaceport America board members expressed concern about Martinez’s move and questioned whether Homans’ departure was good for the $209 million spaceport project as it goes through a key stage.

An emotional Homans read a lengthy resignation statement, saying he was committed to the project and hoped to stay longer.

“While I have embraced this project, it is clear that Gov. Martinez is not embracing me,” he said, during an emergency meeting of the Spaceport Authority board in Las Cruces. “I understand politics, and I also understand how critical it is for her to have absolute trust and confidence in the executive leadership of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority.”

Homans, 54, said he was informed last Thursday to resign or be fired. He said he told the Martinez administration that he’d take up the matter Wednesday with the board, which has official power over hiring and firing the executive director.

Jon Barela – Martinez’s economic development secretary nominee who’ll also chair the spaceport board – didn’t attend the meeting. But Barela’s spokeswoman, Angela Heisel, said later that Martinez has asked for the resignations of all political appointees from the Gov. Bill Richardson administration.

“This is no different than what was asked of other political appointees,” she said. “Homans’ resignation will not disrupt the construction of the spaceport; the construction team remains in place and is continuing its work.”

Heisel said a search for a replacement director is under way.

Two members of the seven-person board – Jerry Stagner and Gary Whitehead, both Truth or Consequences businessmen – voted against accepting Homans’ resignation, while other members voted in favor.

Whitehead said he realizes this is the first gubernatorial changeover in the spaceport’s existence, but “as a board member, I’d really envisioned a smoother transition as we move forward with the spaceport and our new administration.

“I know we’ll work through it, and we’re certainly in a gray area,” he said. “It would have been my wish we would have seen an extension of Mr. Homans’ contract or his job to allow a smoother transition.”

The first suborbital spaceflights are expected to launch later this year from Spaceport America.

Some officials pointed out the spaceport project is in a critical stage, attempting to transition from a big construction project to an active hub for commercial aerospace activities. Finishing construction and attracting industry are the next important steps, they said.

Homans said the first phase of construction, which includes the spaceport terminal-hangar and a 10,000-foot runway, is about 80 percent finished.

But a second construction phase that was added last year is only beginning.

Board member Casey Luna of Belen pointed out he’s been involved with planning for a New Mexico spaceport since 1991 and said he’s concerned that “we’re skipping a beat here.” But the project survived a previous “hiccup,” after the resignation last year of former director Steve Landeene, he said.

Luna said he believes that’s possible again.

“I’m hoping the governor is aware that continuity is very, very important,” he said. The spaceport “will be a good thing for the state in general and this country.”

Lt. Gov. John Sanchez, an eighth, non-voting member of the spaceport board, did attend Wednesday’s session by phone, though didn’t say much.

Board members thanked Homans and outgoing board member and chairman Ben Woods.

Spaceport board members also said they were unsure of whether Martinez will allow them to serve out their terms. And, they said they hadn’t been told how to move forward in hiring a new director.

Said Whitehead: “It’s a time like this where we’re really not sure where we stand as leaders. And it feels like we’ve been put on hold, so I remained concerned about that.”

Homans, in his statement, said for the spaceport to succeed, Martinez must “become its biggest champion and rally her administration to support this effort.”

“Nothing short of complete commitment from Gov. Martinez and her administration will allow this project to achieve its full potential, which is the promise we made to the citizens of New Mexico …,” he said. “My hope is that Gov. Martinez can quickly move beyond viewing Spaceport America as the legacy project of Bill Richardson.”

Homans said instead, the project should become “her own legacy” because she’ll be governor when it first opens.

Homans, who earned $170,000 annually, said the resignation is effective at the close of business Friday. He said he started a search for a new job Wednesday.

Homans was hired as executive director in June, after Landeene resigned because of a controversy involving a possible conflict of interest. Before that, Homans was chairman of the spaceport board from 2005 to 2007 because of his job as head of the state’s Economic Development Department. Also, he was briefly the executive director in 2007, before leaving for a job in private industry.

Spaceport America is located in southeastern Sierra County.

Diana M. Alba can be reached at (575) 541-5443.

Our guest speaker on Tuesday was Fred Mondragon, the Cabinet Secretary of Economic Development, who shared some economic data on the status of New Mexico and Southern New Mexico’s economies, and also provided some words of advice as to how we might keep the momentum moving forward in Dona Ana County.  The Secretary outlined and highlighted several success stories for Dona Ana County that included (click on graphic to view presentation):

• A September 2010 unemployment rate in Las Cruces 2% below the national average and more than ½ percent below the State’s average,
• Site Selection Magazine and Business Facilities ranked New Mexico in their Top 10 nationally for:

o    #2 in Solar Energy Manufacturing Leaders,

o    #3 in Workforce Training Leaders,

o    #5 in Alternative Energy Industry Leaders,

o    #6 in Cost of Labor, and

o    #8 in Economic Growth Potential.

• Regionally, Las Cruces ranked in the following areas:

o    5^th in U.S. in projected 2009-2011 employment growth rates.

o    8^th in Milken’s 2010 Best-performing small cities,

o    #9^th in Business Week’s top recovering job markets for 2010, &

o    Dona Ana County ranked 14^th Best County in the nation for job growth over the last nine years by Money Magazine.

The Secretary also praised many of the strides Southern New Mexico has made with respect to:

• The aerospace industry, where he cited Spaceport America and the selection of NMSU as an FAA Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation as the anchors that will spur this industry forward in New Mexico,
• The alternative/renewable energy industry with three new solar projects taking place in the County, the announcement of Johnson Plate and Tower this past January and with Sapphire Energy located at the West Mesa Industrial Park.
• And of course our Borderplex growth at Santa Teresa which has seen cross border goods increase by 256% over the past five years.

Finally, his words of advice to local leadership moving forward were to:

1.    Continue our economic diversification,

2.    Build on regional and local strengths,

3.    Think globally, and

4.    To support less unfortunate communities in the region.

Given that Tuesday was Election Day, it is only appropriate that we discuss both the success we have had in economic development and job creation, but more importantly to focus on the future building blocks we need as a region so that we may continue to grow our economy.   As I have mentioned many times in the past, Southern New Mexico is blessed with some very strong assets by which we can grow upon.  But we need to assure that the tools and legislative support is available to do so.  This includes maintaining a strong State economic development marketing effort, maintaining existing incentives, as well as expanding those incentives to support Southern New Mexico growth in the areas of aerospace, border logistical support, alternative energy, and food processing.   And although in Dona Ana County, we look towards the State to support us in many of these efforts, we must also realize that as a community we are equally responsible for taking steps to prepare ourselves to attract growth and that comes in the form of education, infrastructure, and capacity building.  In this respect, MVEDA continually provides assessment and analysis on the challenges facing economic development in our region.  Although MVEDA’s primary focus is on marketing and attracting economic-based jobs to the region, we nevertheless find it necessary to engage in capacity building activities that will assist us in our long-term goals.  Currently, MVEDA is implementing and working on several capacity building directives that include:

• Colonias/Rural Area Labor Assessment:   With the support of an intern from NMSU, MVEDA has designed a bilingual workforce survey which we will be distributing to residents in rural areas.  We are receiving support from PICO to assist us in survey response.  Our first effort will take place in November in Anthony, NM.  We hope to expand this to Sunland Park and Chaparral before the end of the fiscal year.
• Labor Identification Program for Santa Teresa based Employers:  Working in conjunction with DACC, we will be marketing employment services offered through DACC to Santa Teresa based employers.  MVEDA’s analysis through conversations with employers indicates that 60% to 70% of the existing workforce in Santa Teresa comes from El Paso.  We are hoping to offer employers a one stop solution and first point of contact through DACC when they have future labor needs.
• Investment Interest in Santa Teresa:  A second challenge with the workforce in Santa Teresa is the ability to convert them to New Mexico residents.  This is due to lack of housing that is within proximity to the employment base.  We have begun collaborating with the Border Industrial Association, the Building Industries Association, and the Las Cruces Association of Realtors to potentially identify new programs that could be offered to promote and encourage more development in the area.
• Spaceport America Economic Development Strategies:   Finally, MVEDA has been involved with Spaceport America and their consultants in trying to identify clear strategies that we can jointly implement that will assist our efforts in developing business opportunities revolving around the Spaceport and the aerospace industry.

We are hopeful that some of these efforts lay additional foundation for growth leading into the next administration and MVEDA will continue to work closely with the Economic Development Department and the New Mexico Partnership as partners in this endeavor.  Again, MVEDA thanks the Secretary for his time and for all the support he has provided to economic development in Dona Ana County.  We wish him well in his retirement from state government which was announced by Governor Bill Richardson earlier today.

By Diane Alba, Staff and Wire reports

Video courtesy of Spaceport America

UPHAM – Virgin Galactic’s Sir Richard Branson, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and prospective astronauts gathered in the southern New Mexico desert Friday to celebrate the completion of the runway at the world’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport.

Spaceport America is the world’s first facility designed specifically to launch commercial spacecraft. The celebration of its nearly-two-mile-long runway comes less than two weeks after another major step for Virgin Galactic: the first solo glide flight of its space tourism rocket ship.

Branson called it an emotional and historic day. The British billionaire said he expects flights for space tourists to begin in nine to 18 months, and he will be among the first passengers.

Stretching across a flat dusty plain 45 miles north of Las Cruces, the runway is designed to support almost every aircraft in the world, day-to-day space tourism and payload launch operations.

Virgin Galactic is the anchor tenant of the taxpayer-funded spaceport and plans to use the facility to take tourists on what will first be short hops into space. State officials want to add companies for other commercial space endeavors, such as research and payload delivery missions.

Virgin Galactic’s White Knight Two – the special jet-powered mothership that will carry SpaceShipTwo to launch altitude – also made an appearance Friday, passing over the spaceport several times before landing on the new runway.

Tickets for suborbital space rides aboard SpaceShipTwo cost $200,000. The 2½-hour flights will include about five minutes of weightlessness. Some 380 customers have already made deposits totaling more than $50 million, Virgin Galactic officials said Friday.

Branson, the president of Virgin Group, which counts airlines, entertainment and mobile communications among its businesses, partnered with famed aviation designer Burt Rutan on the venture.

Until now, space travel has been limited to astronauts and a handful of wealthy people who have shelled out millions to ride Russian rockets to the international space station.

Some of the soon-to-be astronauts attended Friday’s runway dedication.

While space tourism projects such as Virgin Galactic’s venture receive plenty of publicity, the commercial space industry is seeing rapid developments with companies like SpaceX of Hawthorne, Calif., seeking to win NASA work to supply the International Space Station.

SpaceX has successfully placed a dummy payload into orbit and has contracts to lift satellites next. Other firms, including Masten Space Systems of Mojave, Calif., and Armadillo Aerospace of Rockwell, Texas, are testing systems that would carry unmanned payloads to space.

Last month, Congress approved legislation that affirms President Barack Obama’s intent to use commercial carriers to lift humans into near-Earth space.

Fred Mondragon

Fred Mondragon, New Mexico Economic Development Cabinet Secretary, will be the featured speaker. Secretary Mondragon brings over 36 years of visionary leadership to his post. A native of New Mexico, Mondragon was nominated Secretary Designate by Governor Bill Richardson in May 2007, and was confirmed Secretary by unanimous vote by the full New Mexico State Senate in February of 2008.

Luncheon cost is $20.00 per person, payable by cash, check or major credit card. Due to space limitations, reservations are required. Please confirm your attendance no later than Thursday, October 28^th by sending an email to rsvp@mveda.com or by calling the office at (575) 525-2852. The meeting is open to the public.

June 15, 2010

Gilbert Gallegos (505) 476-2217

Governor Bill Richardson today announced that Rick Homans will become the permanent Executive

Rick Homans

Director of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority as of July 1. Homans will step down from his position as Secretary of the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department.

Governor Richardson also announced that he has appointed Duffy Rodriguez to become the new Secretary of the Taxation and Revenue Department. Rodriguez has 30 years of government experience, most recently serving a dual role as Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Finance & Administration and Chief Financial Officer for the NM Department of Health.

“Spaceport America will soon be moving from a major construction project to an operational spaceport, launching humans into sub-orbit, and Rick has the project background, knowledge of the issues, and relationships with the many government and business partners,” Governor Richardson said. “This appointment assures we have the continuity we need to ensure the success of Spaceport America.”

The Board of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority met today in Truth or Consequences and voted unanimously to hire Homans. He will be based in Las Cruces.

Homans served as the first chairman of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority from 2005 to 2007, and was briefly its executive director in 2007. Homans served as Secretary of Economic Development from 2003 through 2007, and Secretary of Taxation and Revenue from 2008 through the present. Governor Richardson appointed Homans in April to serve as Interim Executive Director and as Chairman of the Board, in addition to his job as Secretary of TRD.

Governor Richardson said Rodriguez’s vast experience in government will allow her to hit the ground running at the Taxation & Revenue Department.

Rodriguez, a graduate of Smith College, has served in state government and worked for or with every Governor since Governor Jerry Apodaca. Her experience includes leading management and performance analyses of state agencies for Governor Garrey Carruthers and serving as the State Budget Director under Governor Gary Johnson. She also worked for the House Appropriations and Finance Committee as well as serving twice as a principal analyst with the bipartisan Legislative Finance Committee. She has a strong finance and budget background, is well versed with the revenue forecasting process and is very familiar with all of the operations of Taxation & Revenue Department from her previous legislative and executive work.

Las Cruces, New Mexico artist, Virginia Maria Romero, was commissioned to provide the gift presented to Virgin Galactic representatives, by the New Mexico Amigos, during the Amigos recent tour of Virgin Galactic’s facility at the Mojave Spaceport in California.  The New Mexico Amigos, made up of civic and business leaders from around the state, serve as official goodwill ambassadors for New Mexico.

An image of Romero’s painting Blast Off which she completed in 2007; depicting a spaceship taking off from the New Mexico desert inspired by the news of a New Mexico Spaceport, along with an authorized photo of New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, and Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Galactic, were used to create a tile mural by her and her Arte de Romero business partner.

A New Mexico Amigo, Governor Bill Richardson, presented Romero’s artwork to representatives of Virgin Galactic during the tour.  For further information contact New Mexico Amigos, Mike Pemberton: mpemberton@nmamigos.com

By Gabriel Vasquez

A spark of genius is returning to Las Cruces. The second annual Re-Energize America conference, slated for Thursday and Friday, June 3 and 4, will corral a group of national experts in the energy field to speak on various topics related to short-term planning for long-term energy independence. U.S. Representative Harry Teague is once again the program’s honorary chair.

“Developing a comprehensive energy plan that incorporates both traditional and renewable energy resources is critical in cementing southern New Mexico as a leader in the energy industry,” Teague said, announcing the event.

The two-day conference, to be held at the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum, 4100 Dripping Springs Road, will offer attendees the opportunity to discuss domestic solutions to energy problems with leaders in government, industry and academia.  Job creation will be a focus of the conference.

“This has been one of my top priorities while in Congress, working with great organizations like NMSU to develop research and production programs that take advantage of our state’s unique resources,” Teague said.

According to the program’s agenda, the conference will go “beyond policy discussions,” with a distinct focus on how participants can help develop a short-term plan for long-term sustainability. Participants will listen to panelists speak about creating new energy jobs, jobs through investments in energy efficiency, the technology behind energy independence, new energy jobs for New Mexico, creating new energy entrepreneurs, new jobs in nuclear energy and the role of oil and gas during the transition. Active discussions will be held during panel sessions.

“Energy is one of the most important issues we’re faced with in this country,” said Abbas Ghassemi, director of NMSU’s Institute for Energy and the Environment, announcing the conference. “Energy availability, sustainability, delivery and impact on natural resources like water and reliable and dependable sources of energy are so significant to the sustenance of the way of life that we have.”

NMSU’s Institute for Energy & the Environment is sponsoring the conference with support from the Arrowhead Center’s PROSPER Project, International Relations Institute, Water Resources Research Institute and the College of Arts and Sciences.

At last year’s conference, the event featured an impressive lineup of speakers that included Steven Chu, U.S. secretary of energy; Dick Williams, president of Shell Wind; Diane Denish, lieutenant governor; Jeff Trucksess, president of Green Earth Fuels; Bob Gallagher, president of the New Mexico Oil & Gas Association; Paul Foster, CEO of Western Refining; and Tom Bowles, science advisor to Governor Bill Richardson.

“At Shell, we operate on three hard truths,” Williams said during last year’s conference. “One, our source of energy is going to die. Second, the easy-to-get stuff is gone. Third, anything we do has an environmental stress.”

Panelists and speakers this year include Barbara Couture, president of NMSU; Jim Ford, vice president of federal government affairs for ConocoPhillips; Jason Pyle, CEO of Sapphire Energy; Steve Fischmann, state senator; Russell Schmitt, president of CleanSwitch; Jon Goldstein, secretary of the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department; Jeff Bingaman, U.S. senator; Margie Tatro, director of Fuel and Water Systems for Sandia National Laboratories; and Arun Bose, program manager for the National Energy Technology Laboratory. Several other speakers from various sectors related to the energy industry are also slated to make an appearance.

The conference is free and open to the public, but registration is required and is limited to 400 participants. At last year’s conference, more than 400 showed up for the two-day event.

“We hope participants and audience members alike will participate in coming up with solutions,” Ghassemi said. “Solutions to these problems are very complex in nature. It is not as simple as coming up with a technology … to solve all the problems.

“(Attendees) will be able to participate in developing a plan on how to go about achieving energy independence. We cannot come up with a solution that is forced down; it really needs to be a grassroots, working up as well as the highest level of our local, state and federal governmental policies that meet each other halfway.”

Other conference sponsors include ConocoPhillips, Lockheed Martin, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, Sapphire Energy and the Carlsbad, N.M., Department of Development.

“We have not come close to reaching the limits of renewable energy technologies and now is the time to collaborate our efforts and resources,” Teague said. “Building off the success of last year’s conference, this year’s Re-Energize America will once again bring together policy, industry and academic experts and help move New Mexico’s energy future forward.”

For more information on the conference and to register, visit energize.nmsu.edu or call Karen Mikel at 646-2162 or Aggie Saltman at 646-9323.

Rick Homans

Governor Bill Richardson announced Friday that Taxation and Revenue Secretary Rick Homans will serve as chairman of the Spaceport Authority until a replacement executive director is hired. Homans previously served as Spaceport Authority chairman from 2005-07, before leaving the post for a job in the private sector.

Steve Landeene, who’s been executive director of the spaceport since January 2008, announced his resignation April 16. The seven-member New Mexico Spaceport Authority board on Wednesday voted to give the executive power to the body’s chairman, state Economic Development Department Secretary Fred Mondragon, until a replacement director is named.

A news release from the governor’s office indicated that Homans will serve as Mondragon’s designee.

Homans “played a key role in recruiting Virgin Galactic as the anchor tenant at the Spaceport,” the news release said. “We are reaching a critical point in our efforts to recruit new jobs to New Mexico, and I will be working closely with Secretary Mondragon to pursue some high-profile companies to the state,” Richardson said. “At the same time, we need all the expertise we can get as we complete construction of Spaceport America, and I am tapping Secretary Homans to lead that effort.”

Homans will retain his job as cabinet secretary for the state Department of Taxation and Revenue.

Homans said Friday he was “thrilled to be back working on the project” and will be in southern New Mexico two to three days each week. He said the new job won’t come with a pay increase.

“It means I add a few more hours to each day, which I’m prepared to do and happy to do,” he said. “I have a good team in place at Taxation and Revenue. They’ll support me in this.” Homans said the Spaceport Authority will move “as quickly as possible” to hire an executive director.

Landeene, who’s now an advisor only, will work through May 14.

By Marvin Tessneer

Alternative energy companies are conducting research and development projects directed toward a solar-thermal power plant to be located a mile east of the border town of Santa Teresa in Dona Ana County. The eSolar power technology company is designing a 5-megawatt project in Lancaster, California, as a plant research project for NRG Energy.

“It’s a small version of what we’re going to build in Santa Teresa,” said David Knox of NRG Energy. “It’s a process that we go through before starting actual construction. And from that project we are gaining a lot of insight that will support the building and operation of our Santa Teresa project.”

NRG is planning on breaking ground for its solar-thermal power plant later this year. It plans to have the plant operational by 2011. The Dona Ana County Commission has already approved land-use and building permits for the site.Construction is expected to bring about 400 jobs during a 14- to 16-month period and create 20 permanent jobs when the plant is fully operational, NRG officials said. NRG is planning to build its plant on 450 acres using eSolar’s concentrated solar power (CSP) technology and will be the first commercial solar-thermal power plant in New Mexico.

The technology is made up of a field of flat mirrors, called heliostats, that direct and concentrate sunlight to thermal receivers mounted on towers about 180 feet high. The concentrated sunlight heats the water in the thermal receivers to produce steam that turns turbines to generate clean electrical power. The mirrors track the sun with a calibrated system that can follow and gather the sunlight throughout the day and achieves one of the highest power-to-land ratios in the industry.

NRG plans to develop a project that, at peak capacity, will produce 92-milowatts of electricity that could supply power to about 74,000 homes. The plant will be connected to an existing 115-kilovolt El Paso Electric Company transmission line, and the company has a 20-year power purchase agreement.

The plant also would bring a new tax base and economic benefits from purchases of goods and services during construction. NRG also expects the solar-thermal plant to use same amount of water that would be consumed in a residential development.

New Mexico elected officials are pleased with the solar plans. Governor Bill Richardson said of the NRG project, “With 300 days of sun every year, a highly skilled labor force and a friendly business environment, New Mexico is well-positioned to lead the nation in solar energy production. eSolar, NRG and El Paso Electric are helping us make New Mexico’s renewable energy a potential a reality.”

U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman said, “This plant is an excellent example of the kind of projects New Mexico and the rest of the nation need to further diversify America’s energy portfolio. I compliment El Paso Electric, NRG and eSolar for working to create green jobs in New Mexico that will help to responsibly meet our growing demand for electricity.”