The state is forging ahead on wind, solar, and batteries after hitting its 2030 renewables goal early. The transition for coal workers has been more complicated.
A rainstorm at the Macho Springs Wind farm in Nutt, New Mexico (Jim West/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
New Mexico boasts stark landscapes unlike anywhere else, a clearly defined regional cuisine built around fiery Hatch chiles, and cultural centers that predate the United States by several centuries. It’s unusual in another way, too: As many states struggle to advance on their path to a 100% clean electricity system, New Mexico is running well ahead of schedule.
The Southwestern state’s 2019 Energy Transition Act stipulates that its investor-owned utilities must reach 50% renewable portfolios by 2030, rising to 80% in 2040 and be 100% carbon-free by 2045. That’s a sweeping shift, but New Mexico hit 50% renewable in 2024 and kept on growing. And the state’s largest utility, Public Service Company of New Mexico, or PNM, produced 80% carbon-free electricity last year.
“We wanted to set very ambitious, important targets, because we knew that this was going to help create economic opportunities and protect our environment,” said Rep. Nathan Small, who sponsored the legislation. “We’re ahead of that [2030 goal]. That’s showing us that we can actually move more quickly.”
PNM ’s record peak demand is 2 . 3 gigawatts, and it has 5 GW of nameplate capacity installed today. To keep pushing further, the utility asked regulators in May to approve a nearly 1 .
Source link
