Four Corners Coal Plant
Protecting people against corporate greed and destruction of the land contamination by holding the utilities accountable.
Our work at the NM Legislature, Public Regulation Commission, and in the Courts is opening the renewable energy future for New Mexico and unrigging a system that is dominated by our regulated utilities' profit driven fossil-fuel and nuclear energy interests.
Close Climate-Disrupting Coal:
In operation since 1973, SJGS consumes millions of tons in coal a year, and produced 1.7 million tons of coal ash in 2017 alone. Each year the plant discharges into the air approximately 100 million pounds of sulfur dioxide, 100 million pounds of nitrogen oxides (NOx), and 6 million pounds of soot, as well toxic mercury. San Juan Generating Station consumes 9.3 Billion gallons of water a year.
The Single Greatest Driver of Global Warming
Coal-fired power plants are the biggest contributors to toxic air and water pollution, and the largest source of greenhouse gases in the United States. Coal ash, the waste from the burning of coal for electricity, contains a long list of toxic chemicals, including mercury, arsenic, lead, radium, chromium, cadmium, other carcinogens, and several metals that can impair children’s developing brains, and multiple chemicals that are toxic to life.
We’ve pushed forward on the path to end coal in critical ways. After 8 years of fighting PNM’s ongoing investment in the coal fired San Juan Generating Station, our legal and grassroots organizing work has played a huge part in a major victory – on March 16, 2017, PNM announced that it will close the entire San Juan Coal plant by 2022.
This decision comes in the context of years of pressure from our growing grassroots movement as well as a series of targeted legal interventions we’ve waged before the NM PRC Commission since 2012.
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We have challenged PNM’s further billion dollar investment and recommitment in its share of the Four Corners Power Plant and are blazing the trail for a new standard of accountability at the PRC. New Energy Economy has established ourselves as the only interveners willing to dig-in to provide rigorous analysis and push for discovery to challenge PNM and other utility proposals to extend the life of climate and life harming coal plants.
End Dependence on Radioactive Nuclear
Palo Verde Nuclear Generating station creates ZERO New Mexico Jobs and is the most expensive and water-intensive form of energy on the market, (768 Gallons per MWh at Palo Verde).
PVGS creates radioactive waste with no permanent storage solution and enormous health & environmental risk. Nuclear energy has a track record of environmental-racism and ecological and health devastation in NM & worldwide.
25 Organizations File Joint-Petition Requesting PRC Investigation Into PNM Nuclear
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On the 49th Annual Earth Day, New Mexico organizations representing thousands of constituents statewide petitioned the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission to initiate a formal expedited investigation into PNM’s planned purchase of its expiring leases at Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station (“Palo Verde”) Unit 1 and Unit 2 in 2023 and 2024, respectively, for which it must provide irrevocable notice to the lessors by January 15, 2020 and January 15, 2021, respectively.
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The PRC investigation will help determine if PNM’s purchase is a prudent and reasonable investment on behalf of New Mexico ratepayers. The overwhelming public position is that, rather than deepening our investment in nuclear from Arizona, PNM should invest in solar and wind closer to home that is less costly, is better for the environment, and will create thousands of family-supporting jobs.
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Read more about this New Energy Economy led initiative HERE.
Making Renewables Affordable
New Mexico Supreme Court Hearing on PNM Solar Bid Rigging
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On May 6th, New Energy Economy argued before the New Mexico Supreme Court that PNM’s efforts to corner the market on renewable energy are illegal, deliberately stifle competition, undermine the public interest, and needlessly drive up costs for consumers.
In order to meet the legal requirement that the Public Regulation Commission (PRC) must only approve of resources which are “the most cost effective among feasible options” New Energy argued that the PRC could not know what the options were because PNM rigged its renewable energy procurement process to only meaningfully consider resources PNM owns. Their process disqualified outright the competition by independent power producers. PNM created certain terms for independent power producers (that were impossible to meet) and other terms for companies that would build the solar and sell the assets to PNM. Essentially: No level playing field. Competition squashed.
Why did PNM rig the bid, so that it can own all the solar? The simple answer is that when an energy resource costs ratepayers more, then PNM makes more money for its shareholders.
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Read more about our latest Supreme Court Case HERE.
Energy Democracy for New Mexico
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Our Legislative Action to make possible the Just Transition and Energy Democracy in New Mexico
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We are living in a pivotal time in the struggle to boldly address climate change. Together, we are undertaking some of the largest regulatory and legislative campaigns in our State's history that will expose the potential for 100% renewable energy.
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We need a path to reach 100% renewable energy. The latest United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report calls on all of humanity to seize this 11th hour opportunity and turn to renewable energy with vigor in order to cut the risks of extreme heat, drought, floods and poverty.
New Mexico is 2nd in the country for solar potential and 7th for wind - we can and MUST start leading the transition to a renewable energy economy. Our communities stand to benefit enormously as we find ways to redirect the 100s of millions of electricity dollars that are currently siphoned from our communities to Wall Street BACK into our own communities. The solutions are affordable and feasible. Politics is our greatest obstacle.
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Take a look back at our 2019 Legislative Platform. While important of legislation needed to open the renewable energy economy in New Mexico were defeated during the session, we are taking steps to see them reintroduced during an upcoming legislative session.
2019 Legislative Platform CLICK
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