New Mexico Coalition for Clean Affordable Energy

New Mexico's Wind Power Resource

New Mexico ranks in the big leagues with respect to wind power, having the twelve largest resource in the USA (much greater than California's resource - see the table below). The resource was estimated by a Pacific National Laboratory to be capable of providing roughly 435 billion kwh annually, enough to power 40 million households:

THE TOP TWENTY U.S. STATES FOR WIND ENERGY POTENTIAL
as measured by annual energy potential in the billions of kWh, factoring in environmental and land use exclusions for wind class of 3 and higher.
Rank State B kWh Rank State B kWh
1 North Dakota 1,210 11 Colorado 481
2 Texas 1,190 12 New Mexico 435
3 Kansas 1,070 13 Idaho 73
4 South Dakota 1,030 14 Michigan 65
5 Montana 1,020 15 New York 62
6 Nebraska 868 16 Illinois 61
7 Wyoming 747 17 California 59
8 Oklahoma 725 18 Wisconsin 58
9 Minnesota 657 19 Maine 56
10 Iowa 551 20 Missouri 52

Compare this to New Mexico's total electricity use of about 6 billion kwh/yr! The U.S. Department of Energy has a New Mexico Wind Resource Map. The New Mexico Energy Conservation and Management Division has developed a much more refined evaluation of New Mexico's wind resource, and also materials for developers.