Cunningham
Natural gas power plant · Lea County, New Mexico
Nameplate capacity
444 MW
Rank in New Mexico
#8
of 169 plants
In service since
1965
January 1965
Details
- Primary fuel
- Natural gas
- Technology
- Natural Gas Steam Turbine
- Operator
- Southwestern Public Service Co
- County
- Lea County
- Generating units
- 3
- Share of state capacity
- 2.48%
- Rank among natural gas plants in New Mexico
- #3 of 19
- EIA plant code
- 2454
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | 190 MW | 183 MW | 1965 | Operating |
| 3 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | 127 MW | 106 MW | 1998 | Operating |
| 4 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | 127 MW | 101 MW | 1998 | Operating |
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
| Sagamore Wind | Wind | 522 MW |
| Arroyo Solar Energy Storage Hybrid | Solar | 450 MW |
| Red Cloud Wind LLC | Wind | 350 MW |
| Rio Grande | Natural gas | 348 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 444 MW solar plant and a 444 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