New Mexico
Near $1 billion solar cell factory announced in New Mexico
Ebon Solar will invest $942 million in a solar cell manufacturing facility, bringing over 900 jobs.
Ebon Solar, a Delaware-based solar cell manufacturing company, released a joint announcement with New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham that it will open a manufacturing facility in the Southwest.
New Mexico, which has become a center for advanced manufacturing particularly for silicon computer chips, will now become home to an Ebon Solar facility spanning 834,000 square feet.
Over $942 million will be invested to create the facility, which is expected to generate 900 full-time jobs. The project is developed in Albuquerque’s Mesa del Sol industrial development area.
The Albuquerque Regional Economic Alliance (AREA) served as a key project management partner throughout Ebon Solar’s market evaluation process, facilitating many visits, interviews, and data analysis of the region and site selection support.
“We are thrilled to welcome Ebon Solar to the market; it not only represents a significant capital investment and new jobs to the community but aligns with PNM’s sustainability goals,” said Don Tarry, president and chief executive officer of electric utility PNM and the 2024 AREA Board Chair.
The Ebon Solar factory addresses a critical early upstream stage of the solar panel supply chain. Solar panels are made in a process from raw polysilicon mining, to refining into ingots, cutting into wafers, manufactured into cells, and finally assembled as modules.
While module assembly plants are opening in droves in the United States, with total cumulative capacity growing 71% nationwide in Q1 2024 alone, the need for earlier stages of the chain to be addressed becomes clear. However, cell manufacturing and other early-stage manufacturing processes are quite expensive to build and operate, as evidenced by Ebon Solar’s nearly $1 billion price tag.
(Read: “Can the U.S. fill its domestic solar supply chain gaps?”)
“Ebon Solar is proud to be an innovator in technologies that support renewable energy,” said Judy Cai, chief executive officer, Ebon Solar. “The choice of Albuquerque for our investment aligns with our commitment to sustainable innovation, and New Mexico offers abundant solar resources, favorable renewable energy policies, and a dedicated, skilled workforce.”
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New Mexico
Fourth Republican candidate announces bid for New Mexico governor
SANTA FE, N.M. — Former New Mexico Public Regulation Commissioner Jim Ellison is running for governor as a Republican, he announced on social media Tuesday.
Ellison is running on affordability, opportunity and trust in government as the key points of his campaign. His experience includes serving on the NMPRC in 2023 and 2024.
“New Mexico deserves leadership that listens, acts, and delivers results. Our state has enormous potential, but too often that potential is held back by policies that don’t serve everyday New Mexicans,” he said on his website. “I’m running to bring practical solutions, honest accountability, and a renewed focus on the public interest.”
A Georgia native, Ellison has lived in New Mexico for 20 years and currently lives in the Albuquerque area with his wife and two children.
Ellison is aiming to get 5,000 signatures by Feb. 2, to appear on the primary ballot with at least three other Republicans who have announced their candidacy.
Ultra Health CEO Duke Rodriguez announced his campaign in December and recently confirmed to KOB 4 that he received enough signatures to appear on the primary ballot. Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull and New Mexico State Sen. Steve Lanier are also running.
Three Democrats are running – Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman, Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Former Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima.
New Mexico
Independent governor’s race hopeful sues over New Mexico’s ballot process
New Mexico
New Mexico Lobo players and coaches make moves after successful season, AD departure
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A successful University of New Mexico Lobo athletics season and the athletics director’s departure has culminated in players and coaches making moves.
The moves follow a successful 2025 season and the departure of athletics director Fernando Lovo.
Running back coach John Johnson, special teams coordinator Daniel Da Prato and wide receiver coach Colin Lockett are all leaving the Lobos after just one season. Johnson is headed to Iowa State while Da Prato is expected to join Minnesota and Lockett is headed to UCLA, all for the same jobs.
Johnson’s Lobo running backs ran for more than 1,400 yards. Da Prato’s special teams finished top-five nationally in kickoff returns.
Running back D.J. McKinney entered the portal, he confirmed on social media the day the portal officially opened. McKinney rushed for 464 yards and seven touchdowns with the Lobos.
Two players who received all-Mountain West Conference recognition also made moves. All-Mountain West tight-end Dorian Thomas, who caught for touchdowns for the Lobos, entered the portal. Meanwhile, all-Mountain West honorable mention punter Daniel Hughes is set to leave.
Others set to leave include:
- Cole Welliver, backup quarterback who played in one game
- Landon Williams, defensive end who graduated from La Cueva High School
- Randolph Kpai, senior linebacker who is at the end of his college football career without a waiver
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