Solar power in New Mexico in 2016 generated 2.8% of the state's total electricity consumption, despite a National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) projection suggesting a potential contribution three orders of magnitude larger.

Renewable Portfolio Standard

The New Mexico Renewable Portfolio Standard calls for 20% renewable energy by 2020, and 4% from

solar power Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic e ...

from investor owned utilities, and 10% renewable from rural electric cooperatives.

Renewable Energy Certificates Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), also known as Green tags, Renewable Energy Credits, Renewable Electricity Certificates, or Tradable Renewable Certificates (TRCs), are tradable, non-tangible energy certificates in the United States that repres ...

, (RECs), may be sold through the Western Renewable Energy Generation Information System (WREGIS).

Installed capacity

New Mexico Electricity Generation Sources Pie Chart

Photovoltaics

The 30 MW Cimarron Solar Facility became the largest

solar farm Solar may refer to: Astronomy * Of or relating to the Sun ** Solar telescope, a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun ** A device that utilizes solar energy (e.g. "solar panels") ** Solar calendar, a calendar whose dates indicate t ...

in the state in 2011. It was surpassed by the 52 MW Macho Springs Solar Facility in 2014, and by the combined 140 MW Roswell and Chavez County Solar Energy Centers in 2016.

Net metering

As of July 29, 2008, New Mexico has one of the most generous metering laws in the country, and covers all systems up to 80 MW. Excess generation of less than $50 is rolled over to the next month; over that is paid to the consumer.

Solar thermal

As of January 2012, no

concentrated solar power Concentrated solar power (CSP, also known as concentrating solar power, concentrated solar thermal) systems generate solar power by using mirrors or lenses to concentrate a large area of sunlight into a receiver. Electricity is generated when ...

(CSP) plants are currently planned for New Mexico since the addition of the first 6 MW in the state in 2011. Though NREL claims the state has the "technical potential" to install 4,860,000 MW of CSP covering 47% of the area of the state, at 2017 prices such a proposal would require a total overnight cost of $18,992,880,000,000 ($18 trillion), or 3,392 times the state's annual budget. Even if such a feat were financially feasible, critics note New Mexico would remain dependent on burning coal and "natural gas" (fossil fuel methane) to compensate for the loss of solar at night and during cloudy weather.

Thermal storage Thermal energy storage (TES) is achieved with widely different technologies. Depending on the specific technology, it allows excess thermal energy to be stored and used hours, days, months later, at scales ranging from the individual process, ...

permits CSP generation to be stored and used as needed, but with a round-trip efficiency of only 38% it is not currently cost-effective at a scale necessary to maintain grid reliability.

Parabolic trough A parabolic trough is a type of solar thermal collector that is straight in one dimension and curved as a parabola in the other two, lined with a polished metal mirror. The sunlight which enters the mirror parallel to its plane of symmetry is foc ...

solar systems have been determined to be the most cost effective large systems, and in July 2008 New Mexico's utilities combined to release an RFP for a parabolic trough solar system to generate from 211,000 and 375,000

megawatt-hour A kilowatt-hour (unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common bil ...

s (MW·h) per year by 2012.

Sandia National Laboratories

Sandia National Laboratories has been testing solar thermal devices at Sandia’s

National Solar Thermal Test Facility (NSTTF) Operated by Sandia National Laboratories for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the National Solar Thermal Test Facility (NSTTF) is the only test facility of this type in the United States. The NSTTF’s primary goal is to provide experimental ...

. On January 31, 2008, a Sterling solar dish system set a solar-to-grid system conversion efficiency record of 31.25 percent net efficiency. The previous record was 29.4 percent, set in 1984.

Solar powered facilities

Radio station

KTAO KTAO ("KTAOS 101.9") is a solar-powered FM radio station licensed to serve Taos, New Mexico. The station is owned by Taos Communications Corporation. It airs an adult album alternative music format. The station was assigned the KTAO call letter ...

, in

Taos Taos or TAOS may refer to: Places * Taos, Missouri, a city in Cole County, Missouri, United States * Taos County, New Mexico, United States ** Taos, New Mexico, a city, the county seat of Taos County, New Mexico *** Taos art colony, an art colo ...

, is the largest solar powered radio station in the United States.

References

External links

New Mexico Overview, U.S. Energy Information Administration
{{Energy in the USA Energy in New Mexico

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...