DEMING — Dignitaries, locals, utility operators and contractors joined Tuesday to celebrate the vision of a longtime Luna County rancher, tinkerer and technology buff with the grand opening of the Macho Springs Wind Farm.
Scott Graham, the son of Donald Graham, welcomed the crowd during the ceremonial ribbon cutting to christen the new facility, which has already been in operation. Graham described how his father fell in love with technology while serving in the U.S. Navy. That love helped Oregon-based Element Power develop the approximately 2,000 acres of ranchland that has been in the Graham family since 1924 into a 28-turbine, 50 megawatt site.
“It had a proven technology. It was smart, sleek,” Graham said, describing his father’s feelings on the project. “We could still work on the ranch and it produced something. There’s no way he could provide that much beef for that many people.”
During his closing, a teary-eyed Graham got emotional and spoke directly to the hundreds who had a hand in the project, from research to construction and finally, operation.
“Thank you for making the wild imaginations of an old man into reality,” he added.
He was followed by several officials from Tucson Electric, Element Power and local, state and federal governments. Tucson Electric will be on the receiving end of the electricity generated at the site, which is located in northeastern Luna County near Nutt.
The juice produced by the turbines will go to power as 14,000 customers in Arizona. Tucson Electric serves about 400,000.
State Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, said the region’s characteristics winds, rays from the Sun and oil/gas are ideal for further development and added: “The blended potential for generation is phenomenal.”
He also spoke on the importance of transmission projects such as the ongoing Sunzia project which has not yet begun construction to local economic development. Expanding “the grid” is vital, he believes, to help entice further alternative energy development in the area. And with future development comes jobs.
“There is a short supply of capacity,” he said of existing lines.
During construction, the project created about 150 jobs, many of which were local laborers, electricians, equipment operators and contractors. Element Power sent a special thank you to the local contractors who helped build the project with no accidents. The facility is said to have six permanent positions created to help operate it.
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Distributed by MCT Information Services
