Our Journey date: 2024-02-13

I continue to see Rio Rancho grow and in June 2023 I spotted the solar project being built at Quail Ranch which sits in the very southern part of Rio Rancho about 9 miles N of Interstate 40.

I read about this area years ago as it was annexed into the city in 2002. It sat for many years and in June 2022 the City made a Renewable Energy Overlay District on a portion of the Quail Ranch for solar power generation. That is now where the Atrisco Solar Project being built. It will cover over 3,100 acres and is expected to supply enough clean energy to power 100,000 households for a period of 20 years.

I decided to check things out and took Paseo Del Norte Boulevard W to Atrisco Vista Boulevard where there was a gate that was open into the construction area.  The road did not show up yet on the GPS. There was a ton of construction material and it looks to be in the middle stages of being built.

From the construction site I could see the Double Eagle II Airport to the south 2 miles.

And about 9 miles to the south you can also see the  600000 square foot Amazon Fulfillment Center that opened in 2021 that sits just off Interstate 40. Wow is that a huge ! I then drove down to the Amazon building and the other major retailers in that area, the Tempurpedic Warehouse, Shamrock Foods, Semi truck dealership, a Fed-Ex Freight distribution center, and Love’s Travel Stop. 

This photo was taken from the front of the building.

This expansion also includes parts of the 30 mile planned Paseo del Volcan (PDV) corridor. I have seen parts of this being built over the years. It’s a four lane freeway facility that starts off I-40 just west of Atrisco Boulevard at heads N up to the city center before heading east to US‐550 by I-25.

We overlayed the PDV corridor onto the unit map so you can see how it will go thru the city.

This place doesn't stop growing and I continue to think Rio Rancho is a great investment! Char the Explorer : )