July 29th, 2020: On July 29, the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission issued a landmark decision in the state's transition toward clean energy. Earlier this year, the Commission approved Public Service Company of New Mexico's ("PNM") request to relinquish its interests in the San Juan Generating Station, a large coal-fired power plant in northwestern New Mexico that has long been one of the state's largest polluters. The Commission's July 29 decision resolved where PNM would get the power to replace the San Juan coal plant. The Commission rejected the utility's proposals to build new gas plants and instead approved a portfolio with 650 MW of solar, 300 MW of battery storage, and 24 MW of demand response. A substantial portion of the replacement resources will be located in the same county as the San Juan coal plant, thereby providing construction jobs and tax revenue to mitigate the impacts of PNM withdrawing from the San Juan plant. Other replacement resources will be located in neighboring areas, including on the Jicarilla Apache Nation, bringing construction jobs and tax revenue to those areas as well.
Sierra Club was represented in the case by Environmental Law Program attorney Matt Gerhart and local counsel Jason Marks, with support from ELP senior analyst Jeremy Fisher. We also worked closely with several allied organizations, including the Coalition for Clean Affordable Energy, Dine Care, San Juan Citizens Alliance, Western Environmental Law Center, and Western Resource Advocates.