Dive Brief:
- The draft 2014 integrated resource plan (IRP) from Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM), the state’s dominant electricity provider, promises 44.5 megawatts of new solar, 102 megawatts of new wind, and 10 megawatts of new geothermal in 2015, as it moves to close two units of the coal burning San Juan Generating Station and reach New Mexico’s 15% renewables by 2015 and 20% renewables by 2020 mandates.
- The new IRP forecasts through 2033 and includes specific recommendations for PNM's energy mix through 2018 that includes up to 497 megawatts of coal from the remaining San Juan units, 402 megawatts from the Palo Verde nuclear plant, 200 megawatt from the Four Corners coal plant, 1,149 megawatts of natural gas, 107 megawatts of solar, and 305 megawatts of wind.
- The closures at the 1,646 megawatt San Juan station are part of PNM’s push to meet federal haze regulations and PNM’s IRP, filed with the state Public Regulation Commission, also promises more details on how New Mexico can meet the proposed EPA target of cutting state emissions 30% below the 2005 level by 2030.
Dive Insight:
PNM currently owns 67 megawatts of solar online or in construction as well as 200 megawatts of wind which, with the geothermal it owns, would supply electricity for 150,000 average residential customers by year-end 2015.
There are 22 megawatts of distributed PV solar on 3,300 homes and businesses in the PNM territory.
PNM owns 46 percent of the San Juan Generating Station but estimates put the wind and solar capacity of the Four Corners region where the plant is located at 2,500 megawatts.
PNM is required by the PRC to file a twenty year IRP every three years and specifies the most cost-effective resource portfolio to meet regulatory requirements and energy needs.
