PNM gets approval to acquire Western Spirit transmission project

New Mexico utility PNM got approval from the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (NMPRC) to acquire the Western Spirit transmission project.

The Western Spirit transmission project was acquired from Pattern Energy Group and the New Mexico Renewable Energy Transmission Authority, who will develop and construct the project. PNM expects the project to be finished in 2021 and will accommodate 800 megawatts of new wind energy.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has already approved the acquisition.

“We are pleased that this project has received the required regulatory approvals and continues to move forward,” Pat Vincent-Collawn, PNM Resources’ chairman, president and CEO, said. “We remain proud to be part of this project with Pattern and NM RETA and to expand our transmission grid in support of renewable investments that bring new construction jobs and tax revenues to the state and to improve our ability to make New Mexico a leader in clean energy.”

Western Spirit is a proposed 140-mile transmission line that will collect renewable power from central New Mexico and deliver approximately 1,000 megawatts (MW) of power to the grid in northwestern New Mexico.

“Today’s favorable ruling by the New Mexico PRC will help New Mexico unlock its world-class wind resources, and it means Pattern Development is on track to create hundreds of construction jobs next year with a major wind and transmission build-out that is deeply in line with the goals of the Energy Transition Act,” Mike Garland, CEO of Pattern Energy and Pattern Development, said. “This sound decision will keep the state on a path toward becoming a national leader in clean energy. We believe in New Mexico, and we look forward to continued investment and to being part of the economic fabric of the state for years to come.”