Given that the United States is the second-largest emitter of carbon dioxide, the need to achieve #green and #sustainable energy solutions cannot be overstated. However, the question every town, city, and state faces is how to achieve that seismic shift without cutting down our energy consumption.
Due to its abundance of natural resources, New Mexico has been ranked among the top 10 energy producers within the US. However, the climate crisis has forced everyone to think about the feasibility of this reliance. Past trends and current efforts show that New Mexico can achieve its goal of carbon-free electricity generation by 2045.
The energy consumption in New Mexico varies widely among various factors. The residential area uses less energy per capita despite climate extremes. The industrial sector is the largest energy consumer in the state, while transportation ranks second.
According to the New Mexico state land record, six leases were active for solar projects on the New Mexico State Trust Land with the generational capacity of 221 megawatts. The state has also received 27 new applications for land lease for an additional capacity of 2,917 megawatts. Bear in mind that according to one estimate, megawatt electricity is enough to power 1000 homes. Similarly, the state is also encouraging wind energy. There is a current production of 245 megawatts on nine leases. The applications for an additional 1,835 megawatts of wind power on 19 state trust lands have also been received, which suggests that in the near future, the dreams for a carbon-free state will be translated into reality.
In 2019, the governor of New Mexico signed a landmark bill that will mandate more solar and wind turbines on state lands to turbocharge the efforts for renewable energy. The bill sets out a step by step incremental shift where investor-owned utilities and rural cooperatives are required to get at least half of their electricity from renewable by 2030, 80% by 2040, and then 100% in the following five years. According to said bill, separate funds will also be established to ease the pain inflicted due to the closing of fossil fuel plants.
Given that #transportation is the second-largest energy consumer within the state, it also needs an active push from lawmakers to become sustainable. The state can solve this challenge by investing in reliable mass transit, encouraging bike and electric car usage. This step is crucial, as we cannot have sustainable technology like electric cars run on unsustainable resources.
The state of New Mexico has taken significant steps in the past few years to shift its energy reliance from fossil fuels to carbon-free sustainable power generation. For example, in 1990, New Mexico generated 90% of its electricity from coal, and by 2018 it had been reduced to 40%. In 2013, three of the five coal-fired electricity generating units at the state’s largest power plant were retired. The pandemic has shown the unreliability of fossil fuel prices where these prices sunk to a historic low. General awareness among the public, political will of the lawmakers, and recent trends indicating change all point to the green future, where New Mexico can achieve its goal of carbon-free electricity generation by 2045.
