By Hannah Grover
Hearings on Zia Natural Gas’ energy efficiency plan and the location of a proposed 400-megawatt solar array were canceled this week due to lack of opposition.
These two dockets are examples of efforts underway in New Mexico to reduce carbon emissions.
The solar proposal could result in the largest array built in the state so far, which is why it requires commission approval, while smaller and more controversial projects like the Diamond Tail and Rancho Viejo proposals don’t require the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (PRC) to approve their locations. The PRC will be tasked with approving any contracts solar projects enter into to sell power to regulated utilities like the Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM).
The New Mexico Public Utility Act requires projects that will generate more than 300 megawatts of electricity to receive location approval from the PRC.
Zia Natural Gas
Zia Natural Gas serves more than 35,000 customers in Lea, Eddy, Lincoln, Doña Ana and Colfax counties. The state’s Efficient Use of Energy Act requires that utilities such as Zia Natural Gas file regular energy efficiency plans. The one currently pending before the PRC is the fourth one Zia has filed.
The natural gas utility was required to file the energy efficiency plan because of the Efficiency Use of Energy Act. This is the fourth energy-efficiency plan the utility has filed.
Zia’s plans will not impact customer rates because the utility is not asking to increase the rider on bills that fund the energy-efficiency measures.
Zia will continue focusing on five categories of energy efficiency measures: space heating, water heating, new construction, income-qualified and commercial.
It plans on spending more than $580,000 on these measures.
A hearing was initially planned for Tuesday, but the PRC canceled the hearing in part because no one filed a motion to intervene in the case.
Bernalillo Solar
The PRC also vacated a hearing planned for Thursday for similar reasons. That hearing focused on the potential future location of a 400-megawatt solar array with up to 100 megawatts of 4-hour battery storage.
The project would require more than 11 miles of transmission lines to connect to PNM’s Pajarito Substation. It will be located on about 3,400 acres of private land in Bernalillo County west of Petroglyph National Monument.
The size of the project will likely require up to 1.5 million solar photovoltaic modules and 190 inverters.
Bernalillo Solar is a subsidiary of Orion Power Generation, which in turn is part of Orion Renewable Energy Group and Eolian Energy.
While Bernalillo Solar may be large in terms of New Mexico arrays, Orion has experience developing much larger arrays, including a 700-megawatt array in Indiana.
It’s also not Orion’s first foray into New Mexico. The Clines Corner Wind Project in Torrance and Guadalupe counties is among Orion’s projects. The 324-megawatt facility was completed in 2021 and is owned by Pattern Energy.