LOCAL COLUMN
OPINION: New Mexico is building a strong clean energy infrastructure
For the past seven years, the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department has worked toward a simple goal: delivering abundant, clean and affordable electricity to all New Mexicans.
Since 2019, our state added at least 6 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity, a transformation that has reshaped our grid, lowered consumers鈥� utility bills and bolstered our economy by creating more than 14,000 clean energy jobs that support this generational buildout of renewable power. This ambitious and strategic work reflects the priorities of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who made the state鈥檚 clean energy transition and grid modernization central to her administration.
It鈥檚 worth recognizing the foundational infrastructure investments that have reshaped New Mexico鈥檚 energy system.
Under the governor鈥檚 leadership, the state took its first major step toward addressing the climate crisis with the passage and signing of the Energy Transition Act in 2019. The ETA set clear, ambitious and achievable targets for the state鈥檚 electric utilities: 50% renewable energy by 2030, 80% by 2045 and a full transition to 100% zero carbon electricity by 2050. As of November 2025, our utilities were already ahead of schedule, delivering 52% of all power from renewable sources. That progress has helped attract more than $10 billion in private investment since 2019 and created clean energy jobs at 2.5 times the rate of the rest of the state鈥檚 economy.
The ETA also helped make wind power the largest source of electricity in New Mexico, a milestone that has further transformed our energy economy and supply. It enabled projects like Rio Sol and SunZia, the largest renewable energy infrastructure project in the Western Hemisphere, and accelerated the buildout of transmission, storage and utility scale renewable generation across the state. These investments are reshaping our economy and positioning New Mexico as a national leader in clean energy.
The gains aren鈥檛 abstract. They鈥檙e showing up in homes and communities across the state. In one rural tribal community, a multigenerational household living in an older manufactured home received a full energy-efficiency retrofit through the Community Energy Efficiency Development (CEED) program. The home had long relied on an outdated wood鈥慴urning stove and inadequate insulation, creating safety risks, high energy costs and limited hot water availability. CEED funding supported the installation of a high鈥慹fficiency wood stove, double pane windows, a high-efficiency water heater and critical air-sealing and insulation upgrades. These improvements cut the home鈥檚 air leakage by more than half and significantly improved comfort, safety and affordability for the entire household.
In addition, the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department has awarded $70 million in grid modernization grants through the Community Benefits Fund to strengthen the backbone of New Mexico鈥檚 energy system.
These projects will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, expand the use of renewable energy and improve the capacity and reliability of the grid. Modernizing our electric infrastructure is essential to meeting the climate challenge and advancing the clean energy transition, because it ensures that more electricity generated from renewable resources can reach the homes and businesses that depend on it.
And we are not done. In the months ahead, our department will continue delivering programs and services that advance abundant, clean and affordable electricity for all New Mexicans. The programs include expanding clean energy access in rural and underserved communities and supporting local governments through microgrids, community solar, and initiatives that conserve electricity and lower bills.
New Mexico has shown that it can grow its clean energy economy, reduce emissions and save families money on their electricity bills. Now we must keep modernizing our energy system, so communities statewide continue to benefit from a cleaner, more reliable and more equitable future.
Erin Taylor is the acting secretary of the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department.
