Senator Peter Wirth just released his summer newsletter here. There is a link to a pdf of information about the process for applying for the special assessment on your property taxes with which to pay for solar, geothermal and wind energy for your house. This is a preview of the application that will eventually need to be filled out to apply for the special assessment. It’s not available quite yet but let me know if you need any help or advice with the process as when the application process starts for earnest it will be much easier if you already have everything ready to go.

PNM, our local electricity utility, has had a great solar incentive for the past few years as part of its Renewable Energy Portfolio agreement with the PRC. Anyone with a PV system on their house can tie in to the grid and PNM will buy their electricity for .13cents a KWh. The person then buys it back at .08 cents from them. It’s been popular and very well received in New Mexico.

Well, now that we have some great legislation to encourage people to add PV to their homes, (see here), PNM is trying to change their part in our solar incentives, it seems. They have gone to the PRC to request a change to their renewables program - to cap the program at 920 KW a year, or the equivalent of around 450 houses!! They have also put in a request to become a Solar Distributed Generation Company, where PNM would build, own and maintain systems for people, selling them the electricity.

Just as solar is really going to get a great boost in New Mexico it seems as if we might end up with a cap on some of the incentives. Sad!