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News Release
April 4, 2006
Luna Energy Facility Begins Producing Electricity
Deming, N.M.: Luna Energy Facility, a clean-burning,
natural gas-fired power plant north of Deming, is now producing electricity.
The 570-megawatt power plant, the third-largest in New Mexico, went online
today after more than a year of construction activity. Workers at the construction
site logged more than 880,000 labor hours without a single lost-time accident.
The plant is jointly and equally owned by PNM, a subsidiary of PNM Resources
(NYSE: PNM); Tucson Electric Power Co., a subsidiary of UniSource Energy Corp.
(NYSE: UNS); and Phelps Dodge Energy Services, LLC, a subsidiary of Phelps
Dodge Corp. (NYSE: PD).
Operating the plant will require 25 employees and add about $2 million in
annual wages to the economy of Luna County. The plant will also increase revenues
for state, county and local government as well as the Deming School District.
"Luna Energy Facility is a neighbor that brings new tax revenues and
new jobs to our city and county," said Deming City Administrator John
Strand. "It will have a tremendous, positive impact on this part of New
Mexico."
PNM Resources Senior Vice President Hugh Smith said PNM, which managed the
construction project, is proud to create jobs in Luna County with a plant
that minimizes its impact on the environment. "This is the cleanest-burning
fossil fuel plant in New Mexico, and it moves us closer to meeting company-wide
goals of reducing air emissions and reducing our use of fresh water," he
said.
The owners have installed selective catalytic reduction technology, an emissions
control technology that dramatically reduces the plant's output of nitrogen
oxides. The SCR technology works much like a catalytic converter on a car to
reduce emissions.
The plant will use recycled wastewater from the City of Deming to reduce its
use of fresh water by one-third. The plant's owners paid for upgrades to Deming's
wastewater treatment plant to enable use of the treated water, known as effluent,
and also installed a pipeline to carry the effluent to the plant site. As it
has done with its other plants, PNM will develop an ISO 14001-certified environmental
management system to guide all operations at the facility.
PNM will use its portion of the plant's output, about 190 MW, to meet the
needs of wholesale electric customers throughout the Southwest. The plant's
construction and operating costs will not affect the electric rates of PNM's
residential and business customers.
The plant was originally owned by Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), which suspended
construction in September 2002 when the plant was about half complete. PNM
Resources, Tucson Electric Power and Phelps Dodge purchased the facility
and its permits in November 2004. The project was completed for $10 million
less and three months earlier than originally expected.
 High-resolution
photos of Luna Energy Facility
PNM is a subsidiary of PNM Resources, an energy holding company based in Albuquerque,
N.M. PNM provides electric utility service to 424,000 customers and natural
gas service to 478,000 customers in New Mexico. The company also sells power
on the wholesale market in the West. PNM Resources stock is traded primarily
on the NYSE under the symbol PNM. For more information, see the company's Web
site at PNM.com.
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