New Mexico sees slow shift from coal to cleaner power
Mar 01 - The Santa Fe New
Mexican
Currently, close to 70 percent of the state's generated electricity still comes from air-polluting, coal-fired plants. But utility officials say an energy transition is expensive and can't be done overnight without high costs to customers. Plus, a complete transition can't occur until renewable energy is able to provide a reliable, constant stream of electricity. And while the shift would improve air quality over the Four Corners area, it also would mean the loss of high-paying jobs in the largely rural Navajo Nation -- although some of those job losses could eventually be offset by a switch to natural gas and increased investment in renewables. The state also is challenged with finding a way to store renewable power. Making the shift from coal isn't simple -- it means customers, utility companies, investors and the state Public Regulation Commission all have to agree on costs and timing -- but it is happening slowly. A state requirement for utilities to draw more of their electricity from renewable sources, combined with the decreased costs of solar and wind energy, are helping make that change happen. "The technology is solid. The economics are right," said Regina Wheeler, head of the Santa Fe solar company Positive Energy. "It's time to go." Changing energy sources According to recent data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, New Mexico went from 19,000 megawatt-hours of renewable-energy production in 2002 to more than 2.5 million megawatt-hours a decade later. Electricity produced by natural gas plants almost doubled in the same period. Public Service Company of New Mexico, the state's largest power company, will double its solar production by the end of this year to 42.5 megawatts. It will be adding even more by 2015 to meet state requirements. A major change at PNM's coal-fired San Juan Generating Station in the Four Corners area will make a large dent in the use of coal to generate power in New Mexico. Locked in a court battle with the Environmental Protection Agency and environmental groups over pollution from the plant, PNM and the state have negotiated a deal to shut down two units at the plant. PNM proposes shifting from coal to natural gas, but the Sierra Club, which has battled PNM over the plant, will push for the company to include renewable energy. If New Mexico simply moves its energy production from coal to natural gas, it "will continue to allow more pollution from methane, benzene, carbon and other toxins," Nellis Kennedy-Howard, campaign director for the Sierra Club, said in a statement. "It would also not provide affordable nor stable rates for electricity customers." Boosting renewables Kennedy-Howard and others note that even the oil-rich state of Texas has made a quicker, more robust shift to renewable energy than New Mexico. New Mexico, which ranks 12th in the nation for wind-power production, boosted its wind energy capacity from zero in 2000 to 778 megawatts by 2012. Capacity for another 460 megawatts is under construction or ready to be built, according to the American Wind Energy Association. By comparison, Texas went from almost no wind energy a decade ago to 10,929 megawatts this year and more than 22,000 megawatts of capacity in the queue for construction. The wind energy boom translated into thousands of direct and indirect jobs. Texas is ranked first in the nation both for generating wind energy and for manufacturing components for wind energy. Residents and businesses are getting in on the move to renewables. Tax incentives and new low-interest loan programs are making it more affordable for people to have solar photovoltaic systems installed on their rooftops. If their homes and businesses are tied into PNM's, they're credited by the company for the energy they produce. Wheeler said the incentives, coupled with reduced costs of solar components and new financing options, are bringing in a new type of customer. An increasing number are working-class people who couldn't afford photovoltaic systems before. Homewise in Santa Fe, for example, offers low-interest, no-money-down, 20-year loans to qualified homeowners for solar photovoltaic systems. "People see this as a hedge against future energy costs," Wheeler said. She said municipalities and other government agencies also want to install more renewable-energy systems. "It makes economic sense," she said. Challenges ahead One of the biggest challenges for boosting the use of renewable energy is how to store it. Solar and wind are intermittent energy sources. "Solar and wind are only there when the sun shines and the wind blows," said Susan Sponar, a PNM spokeswoman. "Electricity is needed 24/7." Solar power also is variable. "If a cloud passes over, the energy production drops pretty dramatically," Sponar said. "The grid is designed for one-way, steady flows." The key to solar and wind energy is finding a way to store it and release it as needed to the grid. PNM has launched a first-of-its-kind project in Mesa del Sol in southeast Albuquerque, the 500-kilowatt Prosperity Energy Project, to test batteries and other new technology. To see more information about PNM's Prosperity Energy Storage Project, visit https://share.pnmresources.com/public/pages/default.aspx. Contact Staci Matlock at 505-986-3055 or smatlock@sfnewmexican.com Follow her on Twitter @stacimatlock. ___ (c)2013 The Santa Fe New Mexican (Santa Fe, N.M.) 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