HOUSE BILL 426

54th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2019

INTRODUCED BY

Dayan Hochman-Vigil and Abbas Akhil and Melanie Ann Stansbury and Natalie Figueroa and Karen C. Bash

AN ACT

RELATING TO ENERGY; TASKING THE NEW MEXICO RENEWABLE ENERGY TRANSMISSION AUTHORITY WITH STUDYING AND MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING RENEWABLE ENERGY TRANSMISSION AND STORAGE IN THE STATE; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. TEMPORARY PROVISION--RENEWABLE ENERGY TRANSMISSION AND STORAGE STUDY.--

          A. The New Mexico renewable energy transmission authority shall:

                (1) assess the adequacy of the transmission pathways in the state to support future renewable energy generation and storage over the next ten years;

                (2) contract with Sandia national laboratories to use the laboratories' computational tools and data for valuation, sizing and placement of large wind and solar energy generation and storage plants; and

                (3) analyze and evaluate the adequacy of New Mexico's transmission network to transmit the electricity produced by future renewable energy sources to loads within the state and elsewhere.

          B. By March 1, 2020, the New Mexico renewable energy transmission authority shall conclude the assessment and prepare a report that includes:

                (1) the size and location of new wind and solar plants projected to be built over the next ten years;

                (2) the size and location of short- and long- duration energy storage needed to support the projected wind and solar plants, assuming that:

                     (a) short-duration energy storage will be used for network stability and longer-duration energy storage of up to four hours will be used for time-shifting or arbitrage purposes; and

                     (b) the goal is to maintain a stable electric grid with high levels of renewable penetration up to eighty percent of total generation capacity available in the state in the planning horizon;

                (3) the adequacy of the existing transmission network to accommodate the growth of renewable electricity generation in the next ten years; and

                (4) recommendations regarding the approximate location, path and capacity of new transmission lines that will need to be built to support future new renewable generation and energy storage sources.

          C. The report shall be made publicly available on the New Mexico renewable energy transmission authority's web page and transmitted to the governor and the interim legislative committee that addresses energy issues.

     SECTION 2. APPROPRIATION.--Three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) is appropriated from the general fund to the New Mexico renewable energy transmission authority for expenditure in fiscal year 2020 to study, or contract for a study, and make recommendations regarding renewable energy transmission infrastructure and storage in the state. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2020 shall revert to the general fund.

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