New Mexico Governor to Sign 100% Clean Electricity Bill ‘As Quickly As Possible’
NEW MEXICO -
The New Mexico House of Representatives passed the Energy Transition Act Tuesday afternoon, sending the carbon-free electricity bill to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
Her opinions on it are known: she campaigned on raising the share of renewable energy, and endorsed the ETA in a recent column.
"The governor will sign the bill as quickly as possible — we're hoping it is enrolled and engrossed and sent to her desk by Friday," spokesperson Tripp Stelnicki said in an email Tuesday afternoon.
Once signed, the legislation will commit the state to achieving zero-carbon electricity from public utilities by 2045. The bill also imposes interim renewable energy targets of 50 percent by 2030 and 80 percent by 2040.
The Senate passed the bill last week, 32-9. The House passed it 43-22.
The legislation would enter New Mexico into the company of Hawaii, California and Washington, D.C., which have committed to eliminating carbon emissions from their grids. A dozen other states have proposed similar goals. Meanwhile, the Green New Deal resolution has prompted Congress to discuss the bigger task of decarbonizing the nation overall.
Though grid decarbonization has surged in the news cycle in recent months, New Mexico's bill arose from a years-long effort to rally stakeholders within the state's close-knit political community.
Related News
B.C. Hydro doing good job managing billions in capital assets, says auditor
VICTORIA - A report by B.C.’s auditor-general says B.C. Hydro is doing a good job managing the province’s dams, generating stations and power lines.
Carol Bellringer says in the audit that B.C. Hydro’s assets are valued at more than $25 billion and even though some generating facilities are more than 85 years old they continue to operate near full-capacity.
The report says about 80 per cent of Hydro’s assets are dams, generators, power lines, poles, substations and transformers that are used to provide electrical service to B.C.
The audit says Hydro invested almost $2.5 billion to renew, repair or replace the assets it…
