The Economic Development Department works to promote a sustainable economy through collaboration with private and public stakeholders, bolstering the expansion of clean energy across New Mexico and capitalizing on relevant opportunities for federal funding.

The Economic Development Department leads New Mexico’s Sustainable Economy Task Force and Advisory Council, collaborating with sister agencies and frontline communities to plan for the energy transition and diversify New Mexico’s economy. The Economic Development Department’s Just Transition Advisor conducts engagement across the state — from the San Juan to the Permian Basin — to inform the department’s State Plan and the state’s wider economic diversification and workforce development efforts.

EDD successfully shepherded a deal with the Singapore-based Maxeon Solar Technologies to build a 1.9 million-square foot complex in Albuquerque. This facility will make Maxeon the first commercial-scale solar cell manufacturer in the United States and is expected to employ up to 1,800 people.

Ebon Solar, a Delaware-based solar cell manufacturing company, recently announced it would be investing an estimated $942 million in New Mexico’s solar industry. The company will build a 834,000-square-foot solar cell manufacturing facility in Albuquerque, right next to Maxeon’s in-construction complex, bringing 900 jobs with it.

Australia-based green hydrogen research and development company last year chose New Mexico as the site for its first North American operation. The company will a research and development campus in Albuquerque, helping to foster a blooming hydrogen economy in the Land of Enchantment.