Forget Idealism; Renewable Energy Will Save Consumers Money

Summary

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New Mexico is ahead of the curve. Thanks to the federal tax credit for wind projects, PNM, an Albuquerque-based utility that sells electricity and natural gas to about a half-million customers, signed onto a wind farm in eastern New Mexico in 2002. Because of the federal credit, says Mike D'Antonio, PNM's director of resource planning, "wind came in at a very attractive cost, about three cents per kilowatt hour." Today, out of PNM's 1,700 megawatt system, 204 megawatts are from wind - far surpassing the state's wind-power requirements. Now, the utility is working on how to meet the state's diversity requirement: It's considering building two solar facilities, and looking into geothermal and biomass.

Other Western states have set their own goals for renewable energy, but some, such as Arizona and Nevada, are floundering (HCN, 5/2/05). And even in New Mexico, working renewables into the energy mix is not simple, largely because they can't provide the consistent, dependable power supply that, say, coal does. "PNM is very pro-renewable, but it's not the total answer to our future supply needs," says D'Antonio. "There needs to be a balance: coal, natural gas, renewables, and we're even looking at nuclear." When the wind blows, PNM can back off its coal-fired power plants. But when it doesn't, coal remains the steady supplier. "Price is one aspect," says D'Antonio, "but reliability is more important."

Nonetheless, increasing reliance on renewables will undoubtedly lead to "absolute price stability" in the long run, says Craig Cox, executive director of the Interwest Energy Alliance, a wind trade association. Fossil fuel prices are notorious for fluctuating wildly, while renewable costs are much more stable. "I can tell you what the price of wind will be in 20 years," says Cox. "Wind provides a tremendous hedge against price spikes."

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Forget Idealism; Renewable Energy Will Save Consumers Money

There's never been a better time to worship the sun. As corporations realize that free energy is beaming to earth from space, there's been a spike in demand for solar products, says Bernard Stuart, general manager of Albuquerque-based Matrix Solar. The company, a subsidiary of a French-owned manufacturer, employs about 30 people who churn out photovoltaic modules that...

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