A bill introduced in the New Mexico House and Senate would create a Local Solar Access Fundto help communities build their own solar projects.
The bills are being sponsored by House Majority Whip Reena Szczepanaski and Senator Harold Pope that would help bridge the gap of solar power access in the state by creating a $110 million dollar fund administered by the New Mexico Finance Authority.
The funding would provide capital to local municipalities, tribes, pueblos and school districts to plan and construct solar energy and energy storage projects on public buildings and infrastructure.
Pope says it will be a great benefit to smaller communities who have long been asking that such legislation be approved.
“Right now we have the resources to do this and this is when we really start investing in our future, we really start investing in us,” he said. “As a state we have such a huge resource when we talk about the sun and we have communities that do not have access to the expertise or the resources to start these projects to have these projects in their communities and I think this fund is just going to be a great asset to make that happen.”
The projects would be prioritized by community need, saving money for local governments and increasing the emergency resilience of New Mexico communities.
During a Zoom press conference on Tuesday to announce the bills, an opinion poll conducted by Embold Research showed that New Mexicans for the most part favor more solar energy projects to be initiated in the state and are supportive of using state tax dollars to bring more initiatives online.