In 2017, majority owner and operator Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) announced that the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station was too expensive to operate and that the last two of the plant’s four units would be retired in 2022, rather than operating until 2053. On-the-ground communities and advocates had long since called attention to the plant’s expense as well as its damage to health, air and our climate. In 2019, New Mexico passed the Energy Transition Act (ETA) to build on PNM and Tucson Electric’s closure decision by low-interest bonds to save customers money and provide economic transition ... Read More

Ruling preserves $8/month savings for average customer, immediate issuance of community funding when San Juan Generating Station closes Sept. 30 For immediate release: July 21, 2022 The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission on Thursday denied PNM’s motion for a stay on the commission’s June 29 order, meaning the utility must credit customers for the savings from closing the San Juan Generating Station coal-fired power plant. The commissioners said PNM’s motion did not fulfill any of the four requirements for a stay.   The commission in June agreed with environmental and consumer groups and blocked PNM’s plan to keep charging customers for ... Read More

Rio Grande Sierra Club outings for July-September 2022 ... Read More

Commisison requires PNM to credit customers and issue community funds as soon as San Juan plant closes The Public Regulation Commission voted 5-0 on June 29 that PNM violated the Energy Transition Act, agreeing with environmental and consumer groups that PNM should not keep charging customers for San Juan Generating Station expenses long after the plant is closed. The commission also required PNM to issue the community and worker funding that would be generated by the Energy Transition bonds as soon as the coal plant closes.  “The ruling means the average PNM customer will see a savings of more than ... Read More

A new geospatial analysis released by Earthworks today shows 144,377 New Mexicans including 38,749 children, reside near or attend schools or daycares within a ½ mile threat radius of active oil and gas operations. In the San Juan Basin nearly 80% of the population lives within this radius. In the NM Permian Basin the map shows a nearly 40% increase in Lea County alone of people living within the threat radius since 2017 ... Read More

Standards mean more electric cars will be available in New Mexico, possibly as early as this year FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 5, 2022 CONTACT: Tammy Fiebelkorn, SWEEP, tfiebelkorn@swenergy.org, Liliana Castillo, media@nmcleancarscleanair.com, 575.219.9619 On Thursday, the New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board and the City of Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board voted to adopt Advanced Clean Cars Standards after two days of public hearings and a robust stakeholder engagement process over the past year. The standards will require automakers to provide increasing percentages of electric and low-emission vehicles in New Mexico. The Advanced Clean Car I Standards will go into effect for ... Read More

Photo: Reporters film Earthwork’s Pete Dronkers with an infrared camera at one of the Four Corners sites that a NASA report found to be a ‘super-emitter’ of invisible methane gas. CONTACT: Camilla Feibelman, camilla.feibelman@sierraclub.org, 505.715.8388 New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board adopts nation-leading air pollution rules for oil and gas operators Conservation, public health, and community leaders from across New Mexico applauded the Environmental Improvement Board’s April 14 preliminary approval of final ozone precursor regulations for oil and gas production and processing. This includes nation-leading safeguards that address equipment leaks and malfunctions that account for 70% of the industry’s methane emissions. This ... Read More