SPS: Now You May Choose Wind Power
New 'Wind Ranch' Will Serve New Mexico First
Electricity generated by the power of blowing winds will be available to New Mexico customers of Southwestern Public Service Company beginning this spring (and to texas customers of SPS in the next few years).
SPS said today a contractor is installing a wind-turbine generator near Clovis, New Mexico. The 700-kilowatt generator is to be producing power for New Mexicans by the end of April.
Similar generators are planned for Texas later, an SPS spokesman said.
The generator near Clovis will sit atop a 230-feet-tall tubular steel tower, and will be turned by three blades, each 80-feet long. It will produce power when winds blow between eight and 60 miles per hour. Optimal wind speed for electricity production is about 25 miles per hour.
The wind generation will be supported by SPS customers in New Mexico who choose to pay a little extra each month, to sponsor generation from wind.
The SPS spokesman said costs of producing electricity from renewable resources are higher than costs of production at traditional, fossil-fueled power plants. However, some customers tell the utility they are willing to pay extra for power generated by the wind.
SPS will offer the wind-generated energy in blocks of 100 kilowatt hours. Each block of wind-generated electricity will cost $3 more than power purchased at southwestern public service company's standard rates.
Only customers who choose to pay the premium – to support the wind generator – will be charged extra, the spokesman emphasized.
SPS customers in new mexico who want to support the renewable energy project should call (800) 750-2520, which is the listed SPS service number.
Customers who support generation of electricity from wind note that wind generation has less impact than fossil-fuel generation on natural resources. Wind generation does not produce flue-gas emissions, and uses only small amounts of water to produce electricity.
SPS contact: Bill Crenshaw, (806) 378-2120
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