Committing to Renewables in New Mexico

The document outlines the technical framework for analyzing New Mexico's energy transition, comparing a 'business-as-usual' baseline against a strengthened renewable portfolio standard (RPS). It specifies the cost, performance, and retirement assumptions for various power generation technologies and the economic parameters used to estimate job creation and local revenue from wind, solar, and transmission projects.

• The analysis compares a baseline 'business-as-usual' scenario with a strengthened renewable portfolio standard (RPS) scenario. In the baseline, the energy efficiency standard plateaus at 8 percent in 2020, and the RPS plateaus at 20 percent for public utilities and 10 percent for rural electric cooperatives in 2020.
• Under the strengthened RPS scenario, requirements for public utilities would increase steadily to ≥35 percent by 2025, ≥50 percent by 2030, ≥65 percent by 2035, and ≥80 percent by 2040. For rural electric cooperatives, the targets are ≥25 percent by 2025, ≥40 percent by 2030, ≥55 percent by 2035, and ≥70 percent by 2040.
• Both scenarios assume the retirement of all in-state coal-fired generation by 2030. The schedule includes the San Juan Generating Station (Units 2 and 3 in 2017/2018; Units 1 and 4 in 2023/2024), Four Corners Generating Station (Unit 5 in 2025/2026; Unit 4 in 2027/2028), and Escalante Generating Station (Unit 1 in 2029/2030).
• The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) modified NREL's ReEDS assumptions to better reflect current data, specifically rejecting EIA learning assumptions that lower capital costs based on technology penetration. Instead, UCS assumes costs for mature technologies remain fixed and emerging technologies decline independently of penetration.
• The economic impact analysis using JEDI models for 2017-2030 utilizes specific local assumptions for New Mexico, including a 2,300 kW wind turbine size, property tax payments of $7,399/MW for wind, and land lease payments of $6,900 per turbine.
• For solar PV development in New Mexico, the model assumes utility-scale property taxes of $2,863/MW and land lease payments averaging $500/acre, based on an average of 8.9 acres/MW.
• The monetary value of carbon dioxide reduction is calculated using the US government's social cost of carbon (SCC), with values ranging from $44 per ton in 2016 to $58 per ton in 2030.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2017). Committing to Renewables in New Mexico. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2017/10/Committing-to-renewables-in-New-Mexico-TechnicalAppendix.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Committing to Renewables in New Mexico. 2017. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2017/10/Committing-to-renewables-in-New-Mexico-TechnicalAppendix.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Committing to Renewables in New Mexico |date=October 2017 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2017/10/Committing-to-renewables-in-New-Mexico-TechnicalAppendix.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2017committing, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Committing to Renewables in New Mexico}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2017}, month = oct, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2017/10/Committing-to-renewables-in-New-Mexico-TechnicalAppendix.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }