HOUSE MEMORIAL 37

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2026

INTRODUCED BY

Luis M. Terrazas and Gabriel Ramos and Mark B. Murphy

and Rebecca Dow and Gail Armstrong

 

 

 

 

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE ENERGY, MINERALS AND NATURAL RESOURCES DEPARTMENT TO STUDY COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH DECOMMISSIONING SOLAR AND WIND ENERGY GENERATION FACILITIES AND TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR REQUIRING FINANCIAL ASSURANCE FROM OWNERS AND OPERATORS OF SUCH FACILITIES.

 

     WHEREAS, New Mexico has rapidly expanded its reliance on renewable energy over the past decade, with renewable energy currently comprising nearly forty-five percent of total in- state electricity generation; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico ranks seventh in the nation in electricity generation from wind power, with about thirty-seven percent of net electricity generation coming from wind in 2024 alone, a sevenfold increase from 2014; and

     WHEREAS, solar installation has risen dramatically across the state since the early 2010s, with over four thousand megawatts currently installed, a number that is expected to grow significantly over the next five years; and

     WHEREAS, existing statutory requirements for public utilities will require eighty percent of a utility's energy portfolio to be made up of renewable energy by 2040, effectively ensuring continued rapid deployment of solar and wind energy generation facilities by various organizations; and

     WHEREAS, solar and wind energy generation facilities are vulnerable to various types of deterioration from events such as erosion, hail, lightning strikes and equipment failure, which can result in shorter-than-anticipated lifespans, with some facilities failing a decade earlier than projected; and

     WHEREAS, despite having thorough financial assurance requirements for other types of energy facilities, there are currently no statutory requirements for the decommissioning of solar and wind energy generation facilities in New Mexico, a process that would cover the removal of physical structures and equipment and ensure that the land is returned to its original condition once a facility is no longer operating; and

     WHEREAS, without such financial assurance requirements, residents could be forced to foot the bill for decommissioning, to the tune of anywhere between thirty million dollars ($30,000,000) and one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) per one thousand megawatts of deployed capacity; and

     WHEREAS, a 2025 report from the national center for energy analytics gave New Mexico a failing grade for being ill- equipped to meet a potential nine-hundred-seventy-four-million dollar ($974,000,000) financial exposure resulting from anticipated decommissioning costs of current and projected solar and wind energy generation facilities within the state; and

     WHEREAS, without appropriate measures in place that require owners and operators of solar and wind energy generation facilities to safely and efficiently decommission those facilities at the cessation of operations, the rapid proliferation of solar and wind energy generation facilities across New Mexico could result in serious environmental and economic harm that would otherwise be avoidable through the implementation of financial assurance requirements;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the energy, minerals and natural resources department, in consultation with the New Mexico renewable energy transmission authority and the public regulation commission, be requested to study the potential costs of decommissioning current and future solar and wind energy generation facilities operating in New Mexico and to provide recommendations on possible financial assurance requirements for those facilities; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the goals of the study include evaluating the scale and timing of actual end-of-life solar and wind energy generation facility retirement; estimating the likely costs of equipment removal and site restoration on land used for solar and wind energy generation facilities; assessing the adequacy of existing financial assurance options to hold owners and operators of solar and wind energy generation facilities accountable for decommissioning costs; considering best practices from other states that have successfully adopted financial assurance requirements for solar and wind energy generation facilities; and proposing recommendations for policies or legislation that would minimize the risks of environmental harm and financial exposure related to decommissioning solar and wind energy generation facilities; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the energy, minerals and natural resources department be requested to present its findings and recommendations to the appropriate interim legislative committee by November 1, 2026; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of energy, minerals and natural resources, the executive director of the New Mexico renewable energy transmission authority and the chair of the public regulation commission.

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