03-13-2019, 02:19 PM
Quote:The southwestern state is the latest to embrace carbon-free electricity, passing a bill that will require all electricity from public utilities to come from carbon-free sources. The bill, which passed 43-22 in New Mexico’s increasingly Democratic legislature, requires the state (now one of the country’s top oil, gas, and coal producers) to get 50% of its energy from renewables by 2030 and 80% by 2040. By 2045, it must go entirely carbon-free.
Most of the new electricity is expected to come from wind and solar sources. Opponents of the bill cast doubt on the state’s ability to move beyond fossil fuels; for example, it will require that the 847 MW San Juan Generating Station, one of the nation’s major coal plants, to close by 2022.
To compensate for the loss of coal revenue, the bill sends $40 million to regions expected to lose coal production and required 450 MW of new carbon-free generating capacity to be built there. The bill also allows utilities to recoup losses with a low-cost financing option to shutter existing coal infrastructure and build new assets. Utilities will be able to charge customers “for the recovery of energy-transition costs,” according to Greentech Media. It’s unclear how much ratepayers will have to fork over in the short-term, but experts say the transition will save customers money in the long run. This sort of managed transition from fossil fuels is “an example to states struggling to balance the challenges and opportunities of the energy transition,” said the Union of Concerned Scientists in a statement.
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