The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (PRC) has voted to overhaul the rules for the state’s community solar program, clearing away the legal and administrative obstacles that have stalled its rollout since the program was created by legislation in 2021.
According to the Albuquerque Journal, the new rules allow the PRC to publish requests for proposals for developers to pitch subscriber-based solar farms across the state, each no larger than 5 megawatts (MW).
New Mexico awarded developers rights to build 200 MW of community solar farms in 2023, and advocates hope that by the end of the decade, New Mexicans will be subscribed to up to 500 MW of community solar statewide, representing roughly 4% of total power production in the state.
Approximately 16 projects are fully online as of July, with roughly four dozen under development.
“It’s my understanding that the vast majority of those projects are fully subscribed or very, very close to it,” said Nick Bowman, senior manager for markets and research at the Coalition for Community Solar Access. “I’m hearing from our member companies there’s been a huge interest by New Mexicans for community solar.”
Developer interest in the program has been strong. In May 2023, 408 projects representing 1.7 gigawatts (GW) of capacity bid into the program, exceeding the program cap by 1.5 GW. The timing of the next round of requests for proposals has not yet been announced.
The new rules come as federal investment tax credits for solar projects are set to expire on December 31, 2027, under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, creating urgency for developers to move quickly on new projects.
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