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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Stewart

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/16/2007

HB 677

SHORT TITLE Solar energy System Installation Training

SB

ANALYST Schuss

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$100.0

Recurring

General

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Department of Environment (DOE)

Energy, Mineral and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD)

Did not Respond

Construction Industries Division of the Regulation and Licensing Department

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 677 appropriates $100,000 from the general fund to the Construction Industries

Division of the Regulation and Licensing Department for the purpose of training New Mexico

residents to install solar energy systems in compliance with the quality standards of the state.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $100,000 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY08 shall revert to the

general fund.

EMNRD states that the appropriation of $100,000 to the Regulations and Licensing Department

(RLD) would enable the Construction and Industries Division (CID) to coordinate training and

education, either by a contractor or in-house, on solar installation standards for one year.

House Bill 677 – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

According to EMNRD, training on residential-scale solar energy system installation is needed

for contractors, inspectors, and code officials. These key professional groups are becoming

increasingly involved in the design, construction, permitting, and approval of New Mexico’s

solar systems. Due to new incentives for renewable energy being established in New Mexico

and the U.S. in recent years, there has been an increase in solar deployment. Modest growth

trends in solar installation are expected to continue for many years.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

NMED’s Air Quality Bureau has a legislative performance measure to improve visibility in the

state. HB 677 will promote energy generation that does not affect visibility. Traditional energy

generation from coal-fired power plants and natural gas results in air pollution emissions that

reduce visibility.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

EMNRD may be called upon to assist CID with implementing the solar installation training

proposed by HB 677. EMNRD and CID have collaborated recently on solar photovoltaic code

training workshops. EMNRD is willing to support the CID effort by recommending workshop

instructors, contacting the solar industry, and recommending workshop locations. However, the

expanding workload for EMNRD in clean energy would make it difficult for EMNRD to support

the effort further, unless additional staff and resources are identified for this purpose.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

EMNRD lists the following issues in their analysis:

To ensure health and safety are protected as the rate of solar deployment increases,

EMNRD recommends that code training be conducted for solar thermal and solar photovoltaic

systems. EMNRD supports the designation of CID as the lead agency for this purpose. In

addition, EMNRD recommends that CID simultaneously convene technical subcommittees in

each of the plumbing and electrical trade areas to address solar thermal and solar photovoltaic

code issues, respectively.

For quality assurance, the owners of all solar systems should be required to obtain a

permit and a final written inspection approval from their local building code authority. Solar

thermal systems should be installed by licensed plumbing or mechanical contractors, while solar

photovoltaic systems should be installed by licensed electrical contractors. This is required for

taxpayers participating in New Mexico’s solar market development tax credit program.

BS/mt