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Here's a link to REIA-NM's fact sheet for HB 11 - Energy Storage Tax Credit. Please share.

HOUSE BILL 11 - ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM TAX CREDIT

The Renewable Energy Industries Association of New Mexico (REIA) is supporting House Bill 11, sponsored by Reps. Sariñana and Dixon and Sen. Stewart, that proposes a tax credit for New Mexicans who invest in energy storage for their homes and/or businesses. 

The legislation provides a 40 percent tax credit for purchase and installation of an energy storage system, up to $5,000, with a total appropriation of $1 million for credits over two years, starting in 2023. 

Why is there a need for energy storage tax credit legislation? 

• House Bill 11 kickstarts the energy storage market in New Mexico by targeting early adopters. 

• New Mexico’s national laboratories lead in this technology development. • Multiple studies indicate that both solar and storage will be the largest job creators in the energy industry in the near future. 

• Building a storage market will have positive economic development impacts through the purchases of supplies and equipment from local businesses and hiring of local labor. • This credit is seen as initial pilot program that can grow in the future as storage technology improves, making it accessible to even more households.

What is the status of storage systems in New Mexico? 

There are over 35,000 customer sited solar systems installed in New Mexico and very few of these are installed with energy storage. As a result, when a solar system generates more energy than is being consumed at the place of installation, the excess energy is sent back to the grid. Adding energy storage at a site enables the capture of that energy as it is produced so that it can be used at a future time. This is more beneficial to the customer and the electric grid. 

How does passing this legislation benefit New Mexico? 

Provides needed resiliency to homes and businesses in case of a grid outage and potentially saves lives. 

Contributes to economic development in the state through greater purchases of supplies, equipment, and services from local businesses and the hiring of more labor by local solar integration companies. 

Energy storage will contribute to a more balanced, decentralized, and reliable electrical grid helping to defer grid infrastructure upgrades that are ultimately paid by utility customers. Incentivizes private investment in energy storage systems and related technologies, allowing New Mexico to become a leader in this rapidly growing industry. 

Coordination of the tax credit program by Energy Minerals and Natural Resources Dept. (EMNRD) will facilitate data collection and enable a better understanding of potential value stacking of energy storage performance features. 

The Renewable Energy Industries Association of New Mexico (REIA) is a non-profit organization representing more than 40 companies that provide residential, commercial and government solar services. REIA advocates for the technology, financial incentive programs, public interest, and environmental policies that support continued growth in the renewable energy industry. This synergy creates more jobs, and a stronger, healthier economic future for New Mexico. 

For more information, contact REIA Executive Director Jim DesJardins 

at 505-503-1000 or jimdesjardins@gmail.com. 

Click HERE for more information.

PNM making progress on EV infrastructure but a lot more needs to be done.

Check out opportunities in the solar industry HERE.

PRC rejects PNM-Avangrid merger. Article HERE,

CPACE is an innovative way to provide long term financing for renewable energy, energy efficiency and other property improvements to commercial properties.

For more info, click HERE.

Energy Storage System Tax Credit bill gets endorsement from the NM state legislature Science, Technology & Telecommunications Committee.

Watch proceedings starting at 11:32 a.m. HERE.

Add your voice to urge Congress to pass the Build Back Better Act and accelerate the growth of our clean energy economy.

Sign this on-line petition at the SEIA website that will go directly to your local congressperson and Senators. https://actnow.io/8mKsEx5

Solar is under attack in California and the California Solar & Storage Association (CALSSA) is fighting back.  Please sign their petition HERE.

California is a solar state where power from the sun belongs to everyone. Our commitment to growing local rooftop solar is critical to meeting our ambitious clean energy goals.

Popular policies like net metering helped California reach one million solar rooftops and are growing solar in working and middle-class neighborhoods, which make up nearly half of all new solar installations.

Big utilities are standing in the way of California’s progress. They are lobbying the CA Public Utilities Commission to add a $65-90 monthly solar penalty fee to their energy bills and drastically reduce the credit solar consumers receive for selling the excess energy they produce.

This is an effort by utilities to grab more profits at the expense of the public. The utility profit grab is out of line with California’s clean energy vision. It takes us back to a time when solar was only affordable for wealthy households. It would also cost California tens of billions over time and each ratepayer $295 a year.

Californians are counting on you to support rooftop solar and stop the utility power grab. Keep California a solar state by protecting the successful policies that are driving our success.

Register HERE for a webinar Friday, Nov. 5 about the new solar+storage system at Atrisco Heritage Academy High School in Albuquerque.

Fri, Nov 5, 2021 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM MDT

A new solar+storage system at Atrisco Heritage Academy High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico will provide significant cost savings to the school district. The installation, which includes an 850 kW solar array combined with a 721 kW Tesla Megapack 2 battery storage system, will reduce energy costs by $3.5 million over the system’s 25-year lifetime. In the future, the system may be expanded and set up to provide resiliency benefits as well.

Atrisco Heritage Academy High School is a bilingual education facility rich in diverse ethnicities and higher education college prep programs. The school serves 2,200 students within the Albuquerque Public School District, of which 14% of students come from disadvantaged households.

The project, which is part of DOE/Sandia National Laboratories Energy Storage for Social Equity Initiative, is jointly supported by Albuquerque Public Schools, OE Solar, the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Electricity, Sandia National Laboratories, the New Mexico Department of Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, and the Clean Energy States Alliance.

This webinar will feature presentations and discussion by project partners.

Panelists:

• Dr. Imre Gyuk, U.S. Department of Energy Office of Electricity

• Dan Borneo, Sandia National Laboratories

• Anthony Sparks, Albuquerque Public Schools

• Kimberli Roth, Director of Sales and Marketing, OE Solar

• Todd Olinsky-Paul, Clean Energy States Alliance (moderator)

This webinar is presented by the Energy Storage Technology Advancement Partnership (ESTAP). ESTAP is a federal-state funding and information sharing project that aims to accelerate the deployment of electrical energy storage technologies in the U.S. ESTAP is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Electricity, managed by Sandia National Laboratories, and administered by the Clean Energy States Alliance.

Learn more at https://www.cesa.org/projects/energy-storage-technology-advancement-partnership/