 Portales and Roosevelt County are a top location for wind, solar and "next generation" bioenergy production. Abengoa Bioenergy USA operates a 30 million gallon per year sorghum-based ethanol plant in the Portales Industrial Park. The San Juan Wind Generating Station produces 140 megawatts of wind power in Elida, 20 miles south of Portales, enough to power 40,000 households.
While this area is a dairy and grain powerhouse in the West, wind and solar farm leases and purchases are beginning to dot the county. Roosevelt County has produced 3-6% of U.S. wind power since 2001 (Padoma Energy of La Jolla). In addition to hosting some of the world's top-performing wind, biomass and solar power generating conditions, Roosevelt County in 2009 offers some of the largest reserves of untapped wind, solar, diverse biomass, and natural gas supplies in the nation with reasonable land cost and low-hassle permit conditions.
A BNSF rail spur and multi-product gas pipeline connect Portales to the nearby Permian Basin cities of Hobbs and Artesia, where 10% of U.S. oil and gas remains. But most of all, Roosevelt County is currently at the forefront of certified organic nut and dairy production in the U.S.A., and aspiring to be one of America’s top renewable and smart grid energy centers, providing safe and sustainable American food and renewable energy supplies. |
