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Switch from uranium mining to wind farming in New Mexico

VIDEO       NM uranium capital turns to wind energy

NM uranium capital turns to wind energy | Mount Taylor, N.M. | KRQE News 13

KRQE News 13, 16 May 2010, MOUNT TAYLOR, N.M. (KRQE) – A part of New Mexico that was once one of the world’s major sources of uranium is about to become a major supplier of wind energy……The Cibola County Commission officially endorsed the project this week.In the nearby village of Bibo, Cibola County Commission Chairman Edward Michael said they back the wind farm plan for one primary reason.

“Revenue for the county, we’ve been a very poor county ever since the mines went out and we’re just trying to do something for our economy,” Michael said.

Nextera’s parent company built a wind farm near Fort Sumner seven years ago.

The turbines there are 210 feet tall. The forthcoming Cibola County turbines will be nearly twice the height.

The Cibola machines will generate a few permanent jobs, but also hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes and fees.

A wind project is a departure for Cibola County which is actually known as the uranium capital of the world.

All the uranium mines, however, have been shuttered for years.

NM uranium capital turns to wind energy | Mount Taylor, N.M. | KRQE News 13

May 16, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | renewable, USA | antinuclear, climate change, energy efficiency, nuclear, nuclear costs, reactors, renewable energy, renewables, uranium, wind