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Powering New Mexico’s Solar Future: Overcoming Barriers to Our Renewable Energy Revolution
New Mexico is blessed with an abundance of sunshine, and we can become a leader in renewable energy because of it. Despite our potential, significant challenges are holding us back from fully embracing the clean energy futures we want. At the heart of these obstacles is interconnection—the process of connecting solar projects to the electric grid.
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Interconnection is a wonky topic typically reserved for regulators, industry professionals, and advocates, and yet it is essential to enabling energy transition. Through our outreach in New Mexico, we have heard many anecdotes about how interconnection delays have halted rooftop solar and community solar projects, which is a major obstacle experienced nationwide. Public Power New Mexico and the Initiative for Energy Justice undertook this research project on interconnection challenges and solutions as part of a larger toolkit Public Power New Mexico is developing to support community-owned renewable power. Our exploration of this topic was rooted in our research and conversations with different New Mexican stakeholders who shared their experiences and insights with us.
To achieve the solar futures our communities want and deserve, we must break the barriers to interconnection. Our report, Interconnection Challenges and Pathways for New Mexico's Solar Future, outlines what’s at stake, what we’ve learned, and how we can transform our energy systems for the better.
What is Interconnection—and Why Does It Matter?
Interconnection is an essential process that allows solar energy systems (like rooftop panels or large community solar farms) to connect to the grid. This step is key for solar projects to become operational and for New Mexico to meet our renewable energy goals.
Unfortunately, the current interconnection process is slow, costly, and inconsistent.
Source: Interstate Renewable Energy Council
Source: Interstate Renewable Energy Council
Source: Interstate Renewable Energy Council
Source: Interstate Renewable Energy Council
Source: Interstate Renewable Energy Council
Many solar projects face long delays, high upgrade costs, and a lack of transparency from utilities. This not only stalls our shift to clean energy but also keeps the benefits of solar power—like lower energy costs, resiliency, public safety, sustainability, and local job creation—out of reach for many New Mexicans. Without addressing these interconnection challenges, we won’t be able to transition to the renewable energy future we all envision.
What We Learned from Our Outreach
Through conversations with solar developers, community leaders, utilities, and regulators, we’ve identified several key obstacles that are preventing New Mexico from unlocking its solar potential:
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Outdated Grid Systems: Our aging grid infrastructure wasn’t designed to handle distributed energy sources like solar, creating bottlenecks that delay projects.
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Lack of Transparency: Utilities often withhold critical information, making it difficult for developers to plan projects. Access to real-time data on grid capacity and costs is crucial for smoother interconnection.
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Unfair Cost Burden: Right now, solar developers and consumers bear the brunt of the costs for grid upgrades, while utilities continue to profit. We need fairer cost-sharing models that don’t overburden small projects or ratepayers.
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Weak Enforcement: Despite good interconnection policies on paper, enforcement is weak. New Mexico has the only interconnection rule graded "A" by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, yet none of the state's three investor-owned utilities are compliant with the state's interconnection rule. The rule is great on paper, but the Public Regulation Commission has no power to enforce the rule. This needs a legislative fix. As a result, utilities often fail to follow the rule without facing consequences, slowing down progress on community solar projects, as well as limiting New Mexicans' access to solar.
Despite these challenges, there is a path forward. By modernizing our grid, ensuring transparency, and enabling the commission to enforce the rule and hold utilities accountable, New Mexico can unlock its vast solar potential and lead the way in clean energy.
Achieving a renewable energy future that is driven by our communities and benefits us all isn’t just about technology. It’s about people like you stepping up to shape a fairer, more sustainable energy system however you can. Whether you’re interested in community solar, increasing access to solar, holding utilities accountable, or pushing for stronger clean energy policies, there are many ways to get involved and make a real impact.
