PNM Resources, the owner of electric utility PNM, announced that the state Public Regulation Commission approved its plan to build 22 megawatts of solar-energy facilities around New Mexico. In addition, PNM received permission to construct a 500-kilowatt demonstration solar power and storage facility.
The company, which is financing the solar projects itself, does expect its rates to go up next year. But requiring utilities to pay for renewable-energy installations has proven effective in Europe, where feed-in tariffs - or payments made by utilities to clean-power producers - are popular, and some analysts say it's logical to spread the cost of adopting clean power across a number of ratepayers.
"Our industry, along with regulators, needs to continue to look for ways to add renewable power while balancing the cost impact to consumers. This is the first step toward achieving that goal," PNM Resources CEO Pat Vincent-Collawn said.
Ten percent of New Mexico utilities' power will have to come from renewable sources by 2011 under state law.
