Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024
A.
Each public utility shall develop an annual Renewable Energy Act plan to comply
with the renewable portfolio standard during the plan year. The plan shall
demonstrate reasonable and consistent progress toward meeting the renewable
portfolio standard to be effective following the end of the plan year.
Renewable energy resources that are in a public utility's electric energy
supply portfolio on July 1, 2004 shall be counted in determining compliance
with this rule. However, renewable energy sold to customers through a voluntary
renewable energy program tariff approved by the commission shall not be counted
in determining compliance with this rule. Other factors being equal, preference
shall be given to renewable energy generated in New Mexico.
B.
Renewable portfolio
standards: For public utilities other than rural electric cooperatives
and municipalities, requirements of the renewable portfolio standard are:
(1) no later than January 1, 2015, renewable
energy shall comprise no less than fifteen percent of each public utility's
total retail sales to New Mexico customers;
(2) no later than January 1, 2020, renewable
energy shall comprise no less than twenty percent of each public total retail
sales to New Mexico customers;
(3)
no later than January 1, 2025, renewable energy shall comprise no less than
forty percent of each public utility's total retail sales to New Mexico
customers;
(4) no later than
January 1, 2030, renewable energy shall comprise no less than fifty percent of
each public utility's total retail sales to New Mexico customers;
(5) no later than January 1, 2040, renewable
energy resources shall supply no less than eighty percent of all retail sales
of electricity in New Mexico, provided that compliance with this standard until
December 31, 2047 shall not require the public utility to displace zero carbon
resources in the utility's generation portfolio as of June 14, 2019;
and
(6) no later than January 1,
2045, zero carbon resources shall supply one hundred percent of all retail
sales of electricity in New Mexico. Reasonable and consistent progress shall be
made over time toward this requirement.
C.
Demonstration of compliance:
In accordance with Section
62-16-5 NMSA 1978:
(1) compliance with the renewable portfolio
standard shall be demonstrated by the retirement of renewable energy
certificates, provided that the associated renewable energy is delivered to the
public utility and assigned to the public utility's New Mexico
customers;
(2) a public utility
shall not retire renewable energy certificates associated with renewable energy
from generation resources for which it has traded, sold, or transferred the
associated renewable energy certificate for purposes of compliance with the
renewable portfolio standard; and
(3) for any REC that a public utility claims
to own pursuant to the exceptions stated in Subparagraphs (a), (b), and (c) of
Paragraph (1) of Subsection B of Section
62-16-5 NMSA 1978, the public
utility shall have purchased the associated renewable energy. In the case of
qualifying facilities that are net metered pursuant to
17.9.570.10 NMAC, only the excess
net energy delivered from the qualifying facility to the utility shall be
deemed to be purchased by the utility for the purposes of this rule, unless a
different purchasing scheme is permitted in a specific agreement or contract
pursuant to Subparagraphs (a) and (c) of Paragraph (1) of Subsection B of
Section 62-16-5 NMSA 1978.
