Questa, NM, Builds a State-of-the-Art Green Hydrogen Plant

Questa, NM, Builds a State-of-the-Art Green Hydrogen Plant

The plant will be used to store solar energy produced by the local electric co-op for use when its generating capacity drops due to nighttime or weather conditions.

uesta, New Mexico, has always been an industrial community. John Ortega, mayor of the Village of 1,797 in northern New Mexico, said his father worked at the Chevron Molybdenum mine for around thirty years until it closed in 2014.

The mine has been in remediation ever since, resulting in a reduction of about half of the jobs it previously provided.  But now, thanks to a $231 million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Questa is at the forefront of energy innovation—building a green hydrogen power plant on the former mine property and current Superfund site—that will bring Taos County to 100% renewable energy. 

Ortega told the Daily Yonder in an interview, 

Questa has always been an energy community, a production community. We love the land, and we’re going to continue to be an energy community,

Being the mayor is in Ortega’s blood, in a community where history has a lot of weight. His grandpa, uncle, and aunt were all previous mayors of Questa. He started his career as an EMT and at the local fire department, as a way to “make this place better,” But when that didn’t make the change he wanted to see,

Ortega, said:

The next step is to run for public office,

Now, Ortega and the Village of Questa are working with Kit Carson Electric Cooperative and other community organizations to build a green hydrogen plant in Questa.

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