ALBUQUERQUE — Utility officials announced plans Thursday to build a giant solar-energy plant in the New Mexico desert in what is believed to be the largest such project in the nation.
The 92-megawatt solar- thermal plant could produce enough electricity to power 74,000 homes, far exceeding the size of other solar plants in the United States. The largest solar-thermal plant in operation now is about 70 megawatts, said Dave Knox, a spokesman for New Jersey-based NRG Energy, the company building and running the facility.
El Paso Electric has a 20-year deal to buy the electricity from the plant. David Stevens, the company’s chief executive, said New Mexico has “some of the best solar hot spots in the country.”
The plant — to be called the Suntower — will be built on 450 acres in far southern New Mexico near El Paso, Texas.
