HOUSE BILL 406

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2017

INTRODUCED BY

Cathrynn N. Brown

AN ACT

RELATING TO ENERGY; AMENDING A SECTION OF THE RENEWABLE ENERGY ACT TO PROVIDE THAT NUCLEAR ENERGY IS A RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCE.

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

     SECTION 1. Section 62-16-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2004, Chapter 65, Section 3, as amended) is amended to read:

     "62-16-3. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Renewable Energy Act:

          A. "commission" means the public regulation commission;

          B. "municipality" means a municipal corporation, organized under the laws of the state, and H class counties;

          C. "public utility" means an entity certified by the commission to provide retail electric service in New Mexico pursuant to the Public Utility Act but does not include rural electric cooperatives;

          D. "reasonable cost threshold" means the cost established by the commission above which a public utility shall not be required to add renewable energy to its electric energy supply portfolio pursuant to the renewable portfolio standard;

          E. "renewable energy" means electric energy:

                (1) generated by use of low- or zero-emissions generation technology with substantial long-term production potential; and

                (2) generated by use of renewable energy resources that may include:

                     (a) solar, wind, nuclear and geothermal resources;

                     (b) hydropower facilities brought in service after July 1, 2007;

                     (c) fuel cells that are not fossil fueled; and

                     (d) biomass resources, such as agriculture or animal waste, small diameter timber, salt cedar and other phreatophyte or woody vegetation removed from river basins or watersheds in New Mexico, landfill gas and anaerobically digested waste biomass; but

                (3) does not include electric energy generated by use of fossil fuel [or nuclear energy];

          F. "renewable energy certificate" means a certificate or other record, in a format approved by the commission, that represents all the environmental attributes from one kilowatt-hour of electricity generation from a renewable energy resource;

          G. "renewable portfolio standard" means the percentage of retail sales by a public utility to electric consumers in New Mexico that is required by the Renewable Energy Act to be supplied by renewable energy; and

          H. "renewable purchased power agreement" means an agreement that binds an entity generating power from renewable energy resources to provide power at a specified price and binds a public utility to purchase the power at that price."

- 3 -