Across Texas and New Mexico, familiar energy sites are getting a new purpose. Former natural gas plant locations are being transformed into solar facilities that can help serve customers with reliable, affordable electricity as communities continue to grow.
At Plant X in Lamb County, Texas, retired natural gas units have been replaced by a 150-megawatt solar facility with over 300,000 solar panels. The 1,200-acre facility is converting power from the sun into usable energy — enough to power about 40,000 homes.
“I really am excited about Xcel Energy’s future with all the different types of energy we’re building out right now,” said Philip Spriggs, operation manager at Plant X. “We need to meet the demand in our area.”
With abundant sunshine and miles of flat land, the region has some of the best solar potential in the country. Additionally, solar electricity can be produced without the need to buy fuel.
The same kind of transition is taking shape in New Mexico. Cunningham 1 Solar is already producing 72 megawatts. Cunningham 2 is under construction and expected to produce up to 190 megawatts beginning in 2027. The Cunningham solar facility also includes battery storage, which saves solar power and sends it to the grid when the sun goes down.
“The batteries allow us to put out energy in an instant,” says Miguel Rodriguez, an engineer at the site. “This gives you added reliability, so our communities can depend on their power.”
These projects are also designed to fit into the surrounding landscape. At Plant X, for example, a wildlife migratory path was left open between fence lines so deer can move through more easily.
“It’s nice and out of the way. It’s real quiet out here,” said Spriggs. “We kind of are our own little ecosystem.”
Together, Plant X and Cunningham show how existing energy sites can be adapted to newer technology to support a changing grid. By combining solar generation, battery storage and the infrastructure already connected to the system, Xcel Energy is adding resources that can help provide power to fast growing communities and nearby industries.