New Mexico bill would set up a statewide community solar program

SB 84 would establish a 100 MW community solar program and also include a 30% annual capacity carve-out for low-income customers and related service organizations.

March 5, 2021 Tim Sylvia

Image: Wikimedia Commons

A bill aimed at creating guidelines for a statewide community solar program is making its way through the New Mexico legislature, having passed a Senate vote on Mar. 4.

The bill, SB 84 would call on state regulators to evaluate existing community solar programs and develop rules for a state program to be adopted by April 2022. The bill sets its own rules for regulators to use to form the program:

Projects are capped at 5 MW in capacity
The program initially will be capped at 100 MW statewide
Each project must have an “anchor tenant,” defined as a customer that would subscribe to no more than 40% of a project’s capacity
Each project needs at least 10 subscribers before construction can begin
The program must have a mandatory 30% capacity carve-out reserved for low-income customers and low-income service organizations.

The provisions for minimum subscriber counts and an anchor tenant would offer some certainty of a financial return to project developers.

The bill also calls on regulators to develop a list of low-income service organizations and programs that may pre-qualify low-income customers. This feature has been identified by Vote Solar’s Access & Equity Advisory Committee as a way to ensure successful and equitable solar expansion programs.

In February, the University of New Mexico Bureau of Business and Economic Research released a report that found that a single 5 MW community solar facility could create up to 38 jobs, $1.47 million in labor income, and $5.17 million in output.

If signed into law, the bill could also help chip away at New Mexico’s renewable portfolio standard, which is currently set at 50% by 2030, 80% by 2040, and 100% by 2045. Solar and wind generation currently make up more than 30% of the state’s electricity sales.

The bill passed the Senate by a 27-14 vote, with all votes against coming from Republican senators. It heads to the House next, which is controlled by Democrats, 44-25, with one independent.

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