Chino Mines
Natural gas power plant · Grant County, New Mexico
Nameplate capacity
54 MW
Rank in New Mexico
#55
of 169 plants
In service since
1959
October 1959
Details
- Primary fuel
- Natural gas
- Technology
- Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle
- Operator
- FreePort-McMoRan-Corp-Chino Mines
- County
- Grant County
- Generating units
- 2
- Share of state capacity
- 0.30%
- Rank among natural gas plants in New Mexico
- #13 of 19
- EIA plant code
- 54667
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | 38 MW | 35 MW | 2001 | Standby/Backup: available for service but not normally used |
| 7 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | 17 MW | 15 MW | 1959 | Standby/Backup: available for service but not normally used |
Nameplate is the maximum rated output; summer capacity is what the unit can reliably deliver on a hot day, which is typically lower.
Similarly sized plants in New Mexico
| Encino Solar Energy Center | Solar | 55 MW |
| Macho Springs | Solar | 55 MW |
| Casa Mesa Wind Energy Center Hybrid | Wind | 52 MW |
| Macho Springs Power I | Wind | 50 MW |
About this data
From EIA’s inventory of operable generators, May 2026 release. Capacity is nameplate — the maximum rated output of the equipment, not what the plant actually generates over a year, which depends on how often it runs. A 54 MW solar plant and a 54 MW nuclear plant have the same entry here and produce very different amounts of electricity.
“In service since” is the earliest in-service date among the units still listed, so a site rebuilt around newer equipment can read as younger than the site itself. All New Mexico power plants · What New Mexico actually generates