Large load · 4521 US HIGHWAY 191, Morenci, AZ
Morenci is an open-pit copper and molybdenum mining complex in Greenlee County, Arizona, in continuous operation since 1939 and operated by Freeport-McMoRan, which holds 72 percent; Sumitomo Metal Mining affiliates hold the other 28 percent. The complex runs two concentrators, a crushed-ore leach pad, a run-of-mine leach system, four solution-extraction plants and three electrowinning tank houses, so its grid-facing load is large and continuous. Power is not bought from a retail utility: Freeport's own Morenci Water and Electric Company (MW&E) supplies the mine, backed by 125 MW of capacity rights at the Luna Energy Facility in Deming, New Mexico, other term power purchase agreements, and 24 MW of on-site gas turbines.
The Morenci mine's electrical power is supplied by Morenci Water and Electric Company, a retail utility regulated by the Arizona Corporation Commission and wholly owned by Freeport-McMoRan. MW&E sources generation through Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold Energy Services, a FERC-licensed exempt wholesale generator with generation and transmission rights across Arizona and New Mexico. MW&E has contracted with that affiliate for 125 MW of capacity rights at the Luna Energy Facility in Deming, New Mexico, in addition to other term power purchase agreements.