Chino Mines — Plant Summary
- EIA Plant ID
- 54667
- Capacity
- 54 MW
- Primary Fuel
- Natural Gas
- Technology
- Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle
- Status
- Standby
- Location
- Grant, NM
- Operating Since
- 1959
- Generators
- 2
- Operator
- FreePort-McMoRan-Corp-Chino Mines
- Parent Company
- FreePort-McMoran
- Annual Generation
- 205,445 MWh
- Capacity Factor
- 43.2%
- Balancing Authority
- Public Service Company of New Mexico
- ISO/RTO
- —
- NERC Region
- WECC
Chino Mines
StandbyNatural Gas
Ranked #14 of 20 Natural Gas plants in NM#1099 of 2009 nationally
54 MW Natural Gas standby in Grant, NM — Public Service Company of New Mexico
EIAWD
54 MW
Nameplate Capacity
2
Generators
units
Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle
Technology
1959
Operating Since
Location
Coordinates
32.6956, -108.1230
County
Grant, NM
Nearby Plants
- Silver City WWTP PV ProjectSolar1 MW · 11.8 km
- Freeport McMoRanDistillate Oil30.4 MW · 22.8 km
Ownership & Operator
| Field | EIA | GEM | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | FreePort-McMoRan-Corp-Chino Mines | FreePort-McMoRan-Corp-Chino Mines | — |
| Owner(s) | FreePort-McMoRan-Corp-Chino Mines | FreePort-McMoran | — |
| Status | Standby | — | — |
Ownership Chain
About
Chino Mines is a 54 MW natural gas-fired combined cycle power plant located in Grant County, New Mexico. The plant began operating in 1959 and consists of two generators. It is owned and operated by FreePort-McMoRan-Corp-Chino Mines, a subsidiary of FreePort-McMoran. Chino Mines ranks as the 14th largest power plant in New Mexico out of 20, and 1090th nationally out of 1963 plants.
The plant operates within the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) NERC region, and its balancing authority is the Public Service Company of New Mexico. In the most recent year of data, Chino Mines generated 205,445 MWh of electricity, achieving a capacity factor of 43.2%.
Generated from EIA, GEM, and public data sources
Engineering & Generators
Grid Context
NERC Region
WECC
Balancing Authority
Public Service Company of New Mexico
Grid Voltage
115 kV
Regulatory Status
NR
Entity Type
Industrial
Sector
Industrial Non-CHP
Generation
25.9K MWh
Latest Month
205.4K MWh
Annual Generation
43.2%
Capacity Factor
Jan 2023 – Dec 2025
Financial Data
No financial data available for this plant.
Pricing & Market Data
This plant is outside organized wholesale electricity markets (ISOs/RTOs). Nodal pricing data is not available.
News & Articles (6)Beta
Hazards·wildfire
All Trout Fire evacuations lifted Wednesday
All areas still under evacuation orders related to the Trout Fire were lowered to “Set” on Wednesday around noon, meaning residents can return home.
Silvercity Daily Press·9 months ago
Industry·corporate
How the rise of copper reveals clean energy’s dark side
Environmentalists worry that copper mining giants in New Mexico will be reluctant to follow such standards.
New Mexico In Depth·4 years ago
Industry·corporate
New Mexico LOCATABLE MINERALS
Notable locatable mineral operations in New Mexico includes the Chino mine and Tyrone mine in southwest New Mexico. Both these open pit copper mines are...
Bureau of Land Management (.gov)·5 years ago
Industry·corporate
Chino copper mine (Santa Rita Copper Mine), New Mexico, USA
The Chino copper mine, also known as the Santa Rita copper mine, located in New Mexico, in the US is one of the oldest copper mines in North...
NS Energy·5 years ago
Last updated 2026-03-14
View all 6 articles