AROUND NEW MEXICO

Calif. utilities sign on for NM wind energy

Pattern Energy Group has signed 15-year power purchase agreements with California-based Silicon Valley Clean Energy and Monterey Bay Community Power for 200 megawatts of electricity from Pattern’s planned Duran Mesa Wind project near Corona.

Duran construction is expected to begin next year and come online in late 2020.

Once operating, the wind farm will send the electricity to California through the SunZia Southwest Transmission Project, a 520-mile line expected to be operating by 2020. Pattern Energy is the anchor tenant for SunZia.

It’s developing 2.2 gigawatts of wind generation in Central New Mexico for transport to western markets via SunZia.

$2.3M subsidy backs Hobbs-Houston flights

LOVINGTON — A memorandum of understanding approved last week by Lea County guarantees United Airlines a subsidy of $2.3 million for the airline to maintain commercial flight service to Houston.

United Airlines flies twice-daily nonstop flights between Hobbs and Houston.

The agreement requires subsidy payments from the city of Lovington and the county to maintain the commercial airline service, with

the city and county each agreeing to provide a subsidy of up to $1.15 million. The amount of subsidy is based on the percentage of seats filled.

‘Under-withheld’ taxes blamed on faulty tables

WASHINGTON — Congressional auditors say about 30 million people — 21 percent of U.S. taxpayers — will have to come up with more money to pay their taxes next year because their employers withheld too little from their paychecks under government tables keyed to the new tax law.

New tax withholding tables for employers were put together by the government early this year. About 30 million workers received pay that was “under-withheld” — making their paychecks bigger this year but bringing a larger bill at tax time next spring, according to the Government Accountability Office’s report.

About 27 million taxpayers would have been affected even if the new law hadn’t been enacted.

The changes, however, added 3 million to that number.