Industrial:
- Ciniza Refinery
- Milagro Cogeneration Plant
- Orville Slaughter
- Phelps Dodge Cobre Mining
- Phelps Dodge Chino Mines Co
- Phelps Dodge Hidalgo Smelter
- Williams Field Services Kutz Plant
Institutional:
- City Of Albuquerque Southside Water Reclamation Plant
*renewable
- New Mexico State University
- Town Of Taos Coronado Center
- University Of New Mexico
*
Contact Us if you know of additions or subtractions from this list.
Statewide Interconnection Procedures: Yes
- Interconnection standards in New Mexico are decent but could be made
better by eliminating the requirement for additional insurance.
Customers with grid-tied DG systems already carry their own general
liability insurance, and the rules already have provisions for
indemnification, making the requirement for additional insurance
redundant and an extra, unneeded expense. See the policy for
10 MW and under, the policy for
more than 10 MW and
interconnection manual.
- About statewide interconnection
policies
Waste Heat Included in Renewable Portfolio Standard:
Unknown
- While New Mexico's renewable portfolio standard does not
explicitly mention recycled energy, it does contain a provision that
allows new technologies to be considered. It is presently unknown if the
public service commission would allow a recycled energy project to
count.
See the policy.
- About waste heat in renewable
portfolio standards
CHP in Utility Demand-Side Management: No
Output-based Emission Standards: No
Fair Standby Rates: Unknown
- We have not heard direct reports of New Mexico utility standby
rates either helping or hurting CHP projects. Neither the legislature
nor the public service commission has studied the issue. If you know of
standby rates in New Mexico affecting individual projects,
contact us.
- About standby rates
Recycled Energy Specific Incentives: Some
- Waste heat projects that do not combust additional fossil fuel are
eligible for an advanced energy income tax credit of up to 6% of the
eligible generating plan costs.
See the policy.
- Tri-State provides power to
44 rural electric cooperatives in parts of NM, CO, WY, and NE.
Tri-State offers some incentives for its member cooperatives to develop
distributed and/or renewable energy projects, and recycled energy
projects qualify. See the
Policy Summary,
FAQs (part 1) and
FAQs (part
2).
Electricity prices in New Mexico have remained fairly low in comparison
to the national average over the past five years, staying about a cent and a
half per KWh lower for commercial power and about half a cent lower for
industrial power. The power prices have stayed fairly consistent with very
little volatility over the five year time period. Overall, New Mexico falls
in the middle of the intermountain states in respect to electricity prices.
| New Mexico average commercial retail electricity
price (2010) |
8.67 ¢/kWh |
| National average commercial retail electricity price (2010) |
10.26 ¢/kWh |
| New Mexico average industrial retail electricity
price (2010) |
6.00 ¢/kWh |
| National average industrial retail electricity
price (2010) |
6.79 ¢/kWh |
Source: EIA; data is year-to-date through December 2010.
Note: All data post January 2010 are preliminary estimates based on a cutoff
model sample.
Natural gas prices in New Mexico have stayed fairly close to the national
average in terms of volatility, while remaining, on average, more than a
dollar cheaper than the national average(per thousand cubic feet or TCF) for
commercial customers, but about a half a dollar more expensive than the
national average for industrial customers. This puts New Mexico in the
middle of the intermountain states ranking as far as both price and
volatility are concerned.
When evaluating CHP, a considerable amount of attention needs to be
placed on the price of natural gas, and where it may be headed in the
future. The combination of relatively low electric prices and rising natural
gas prices makes it more difficult for a CHP project to be economic and
generate cost savings, but there are still going to be successful
applications for the appropriate use of CHP. The best applications are those
that value high reliability, have higher electric rates during peak times,
spend a high percentage of their energy bill on air conditioning, and/or
potentially could make use of a "waste fuel."
| New Mexico average commercial natural gas price (2010) |
7.55 $/TCF |
| National average commercial natural gas price (2010) |
9.23 $/TCF |
| New Mexico average industrial natural gas price
(2010) |
6.05 $/TCF |
| National average industrial natural gas price (2010) |
5.34 $/TCF |
Source: EIA; data is year-to-date through December 2010.