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Solar Salvation

New Mexico has put itself on the map when it comes to solar energy in recent years. But, will this renewable energy option still burn bright in the years and decades to come? It’s a question many people are asking, especially after the recent struggles of local companies like Advent Solar, which also benefitted from state incentive programs.

Ahead this week, discussing the realities of solar power as an engine of economic development in New Mexico. Plus, the budget battles rages on. But, not everyone agrees on the state’s outlook. And, Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry goes toe-to-toe with the unions over his budget-balancing plan. All this, plus the latest twists and turns in what is shaping up to be a memorable race for Governor, on a show that’s involved, informed and in depth.

Click HERE for audio podcast.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 9th, 2010 at 10:36 am and is filed under nmif. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

4 Responses to “Solar Salvation”

  1. Erik Hawkes Says:
    July 9th, 2010 at 8:18 pm

    The solution requires that the owner of the generator own the RECs. Everybody needs to voice this demand to Senator Stephen Fischmann and PRC Commissioner Jason Marks. Time is running out. – EH

    http://sites.google.com/site/erikhawkes/Home/matt-rogers

    Matt Rogers
    MONDAY, JUNE 7, 2010
    SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
    ROOM 322, NEW MEXICO STATE CAPITAL

    Chairman Fischmann and members of the Committee,
    My name is Erik Hawkes and I report that on Thursday, June 03, 2010, at the Re-Energize America conference held in Las Cruces, New Mexico I asked the following question to Matt Rogers (Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Energy for the Recovery Act):

    “Do you believe that third party ownership of commercial scale PV grid-tie systems in conjunction with open market trading of decoupled renewable energy certificates will drive electricity prices below current wholesale prices?”

    Matt Rogers answered: “yes”

    Chairman Fischmann and members of the Committee,

    It is ALL about the RECs.

    RECs are the green tags; the renewable energy certificates.

    It takes one REC + one kWh of brown power to = one kWh of green power.

    So, you produce one REC with every kWh your solar array produces, and RECs have value.

    Some utility companies will purchase your RECs, but the opportunity now exists for REC owners to sell their RECs on an open auction and to not be dependent upon the local utility for purchasing them.

    However, we need clarity to who actually owns the RECs to prevent future disagreements. NMPRC rule 572.13.c.1.b is contrary to common sense and says that the utility owns the RECs for free if the generating facility is a “Qualifying Facility” and NMPRC case ruling 05-00352-UT did just that, it ruled that all net-metered systems in New Mexico are Qualifying Facilities. Obviously, the owner of the generator owns the RECs – so this needs to be changed. I ask that this commission clearly state that the owner of the generator owns the RECs and to support the development of laws which allow for open market trading of decoupled renewable energy certificates.

    http://arpa-e.energy.gov/EventsWorkshops/Inno...
    Matt Rogers is the Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Energy for the Recovery Act. In this role, he has responsibility for the Department of Energy’S $36.7B in Recovery Act appropriations. These funds should support some $100B in projects in energy efficiency, renewable energy, energy infrastructure, carbon capture, energy and basic science, and environmental clean up.

  2. Randy Says:
    July 10th, 2010 at 8:02 pm

    Good show.

    After watching this, I checked the New Mexico Green Grid web site. http://greengridnewmexico.org/

    Looks like the last update was May 2009! Is the state doing anything new?

    Randy

  3. Should the State Invest More in Solar? « Sarah Gustavus Says:
    July 23rd, 2010 at 7:23 pm

    [...] Solar Salvation [...]

  4. Erik Hawkes Says:
    July 30th, 2010 at 8:35 pm

    The State should and must invest more in solar (and wind) by clearly stating that the owner of the generator owns the RECs (support NM PRC 572.13.c.1.a; oppose NM PRC 572.13.c.1.b) and to support the development of laws which allow for open market trading of decoupled renewable energy certificates.

    The solution requires that the owner of the generator own the RECs. Everybody needs to voice this demand to Senator Stephen Fischmann and PRC Commissioner Jason Marks. Time is running out.

    Remember:

    DG (distributed generation) is competition to PNM’s regulated utility monopoly.
    As a monopoly, PNM has large economy of scale.
    Utility scale is cheaper than what small businesses can provide individually.
    Therefore, small business is the enemy of the rate payer.

    This is PNM’s argument.

    Watch those RECs.
    The next step is for PNM (or FERC) to declare that utilities get the RECs for free, regardless if you consume the kWh. When that happens, the small renewable business owner is finished.

    Add THAT to the future of the economy. If you don’t like sad endings, then New Mexico must clearly state that the owner of the generator owns the RECs (NM PRC 572.13.c.1.a) and must support the development of laws which allow for open market trading of decoupled renewable energy certificates.

    http://sites.google.com/site/erikhawkes/Home/the-recovery

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