Earlier this week, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich made multiple stops in New Mexico to promote a new piece of legislation. He hopes the bipartisan bill will lead to more jobs and lower utility bills for New Mexicans. The New Mexico Democrat met with farmers, union leaders and clean energy companies on Monday and Tuesday.
Heinrich told building trade unions that the SunZia wind energy project was a large inspiration for the new legislation.
"While we had to get the details right, we could have gotten them right in five, six, seven years rather than 17 or 18 years."
SunZia is the largest clean energy project in the Western Hemisphere. Heinrich said that while construction took only two years, the permitting process took 16. Heinrich hopes that by speeding up the permitting process, more New Mexicans can get jobs working on clean energy infrastructure projects.
Courtenay Eichorst is the business manager of a local plumbers and pipefitters union. He said that trade jobs can be life-changing for workers who come from disadvantaged backgrounds.
"It's generational change, too," he said. "Because now all of a sudden they can afford a house, they can afford a vehicle, they can send their kids to a better school."
Heinrich says the bill includes environmental protections, but some environmental advocates are criticizing the legislation. Erik Schlenker-Goodrich of the Environmental Western Law Center told Source NM that the bill undermines Heinrich's reputation as an environmental advocate. Heinrich crafted the bill with Republican co-sponsors. Schlenker-Goodrich thinks Heinrich could have crafted a bill more protective of the environment after expected Democratic gains in the midterms.
