(Photo: Parabolic trough collectors concentrate the sun’s energy in New Mexico. Credit: Randy Montoya, Sandia Labs Flickr Creative Commons)[/caption]
New Mexico lawmakers passed Senate Bill 489, requiring the state to get 100% of its energy from carbon-free sources by 2045. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham praised the landmark legislation and is expected to sign the bill.
The state is set to join California and Hawaii in approving ambitious renewable energy mandates.
The proposal authorizes the use of bonds for electric utility Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) to pay for the costs associated with closing a coal-fired power plant located in the Four Corners area, the Albuquerque Journal’s Dan McKay explained. Requirements for investor-owned utilities in the state to shift to carbon-free generation would happen in phases: 50% from renewable sources by 2030 and 80% by 2040.
Senate Bill 489 passed 43-22 in the Democratic-led House on Tuesday after a long debate over the consequences of shutting the San Juan coal-fired power plant, which has been major economic driver for decades, the Associated Press reported. In January, the Albuquerque Journal started a countdown to the plant’s closure when four of the plant’s five utility owners confirmed plans to exit the facility in 2022.
After the vote this week, Governor Grisham said the legislation would aggressively transition the state toward renewable energy sources and establish New Mexico as a national leader in climate-conscious governance. “When we were presented the chance to move toward cleaner sources of energy, we took it,” she added.
News about SB 489 passing came around the same time as the state Oil Conservation Division published statistics showing that oil production in New Mexico hit a record high in 2018.
“Some of the world’s largest producers are pumping unprecedented investments into both the New Mexico and Texas sides of the Permian Basin,” Kevin Robinson-Avila wrote in the Albuquerque Journal. “Last week, Exxon Mobil and Chevron projected a combined 2 million barrels of oil production per day by the mid-2020s from their holdings there.”
The 4th Annual Environmental Leader & Energy Manager Conference takes place May 13 – 15, 2019 in Denver. Learn more here.
