jean guerrero of local station k.p.b.s. diego. >> reporter: sixty-two-year-old jose mercado runs a small market near the center of the jacumeeÉ, a small rural town just south of the u.s.-mexican border. he's part of a commune leasing land to the first cross-border wind energy project, energiiiÍa sierra juaaaÁrez. operated by sempra energy affiliates, the wind farm started sending electricity across the border this summer. >> ( translated ): we lease the land to the company. right? and the company put the turbines, giving us a percentage of their profits. >> reporter: mercado says each person in the commune gets about $2,000 a month from the wind farm. that's huge for jacumeeeÉ, where the main source of income had been livestock. >> ( translated ): the land wasn't apt for plantings, or even construction, because it's all just rock. the wind farm gives us money to survive without having to work. that's what we want. not to have to work. >> reporter: 100% of the electricity is sold to san diego gas & electric through a cross-