Renewable energy sources, including wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal will almost certainly be a major part of the future energy supply in the west. Renewables offer obvious environmental benefits, as well a way to avoid the economic risks of fossil fuel dependency. But to turn blowing wind and hot sun into useable electricity, we have to be able to transport power from where it’s produced to where it’s needed. A project sponsored by the Western Governors’ Association has recently issued a draft report identifying the best renewable energy production zones in the region, along with the transmission corridors that could move this power most cost-effectively.

As a member of the Steering Committee for the Western Renewable Energy Zones (WREZ) project, I approved the project’s work plan at the kick-off meeting last May. Since that time, technical experts, organized into workgroups, have been working hard to complete the first phase. The Phase I project report, which includes the methodology used to identify renewable energy zones, as well as the draft zones themselves, has been posted on the Internet for public comment at www.westgov.org/wga/initiatives/wrez/comments.htm. Public comment may be submitted on the website through March 2, 2009.

The draft WREZ report confirms New Mexico’s excellent wind and solar resources, identifying three solar and two wind zones in our state, for a best-in-the-west total of 30,455 megawatts of potential commercial potential. In New Mexico, and across the region, the WREZ work groups first identified raw resource zones in each state based on technical potentials, scaled these back to just the “best in class,” and then screened out areas deemed inappropriate for commercial development due to military or environmental restrictions. It is important that interested members of the public have a chance to evaluate and comment on whether the proper assumptions were made, whether additional environmentally sensitive areas should be screened out, or whether good resources were overlooked. Renewable energy developers and others may also wish to comment on the economic model that is part of the Phase I report.

We have seen good success from our first steps into renewable energy development. Today, more than five percent of our electricity in New Mexico comes from wind power and solar projects are moving ahead. Wind power is a particularly attractive resource because of its low costs, but further wind development may stall because the surplus capacity in our existing transmission lines has been mostly used up. (Transmission is not as big a factor in solar development, where great solar resources are located close by to Albuquerque, Phoenix, Las Vegas, and other regional cities.) By defining the best resource zones and transmission corridors in the region, the WREZ project can reduce the risks associated with the multi-billion dollar investment needed to build out more transmission. According to the draft report, New Mexico has over 13,000 megawatts of commercial-quality wind resources – far more than we’d ever need for our own use - just waiting to be exported to electricity-hungry consumers in Arizona, Nevada, and California.

Jason Marks
Public Regulation Commissioner