New Mexico Governor Enacts Four Clean Energy Bills

Measures promote advanced energy technologies, green buildings and biodiesel

[From Renewable Energy Access.com:]

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson Bills recently signed four significant renewable energy bills: SB 994 (Advanced Energy Tax Credit); SB 489 (Biodiesel Blend Required by 2012); HB 318 (Power plant mercury emissions control); SB 463 (Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit Amendments).

"New Mexico is showing that we can create jobs through spurring significant investment in electricity generation from our world-class solar and wind resources," Richardson said, "promoting advanced coal technologies, building more efficient homes and offices, and increasing the production and use of biodiesel."

SB 994 (Cisneros) is the first tax credit in the nation to cover carbon capture technology and include specific capture goals at coal-fired power plants.

SB 489 (Ortiz y Pino) will require that 5% of every gallon of diesel fuel sold in New Mexico comes from an agricultural source by 2012. This will help boost New Mexico's growing biodiesel industry, reduce our use of foreign oil and combat climate change.

HB 318 (Wirth) allows New Mexico to continue to protect its citizens from the damaging effects of mercury pollution. This bill allows New Mexico to pass more protective mercury standards than the federal government.

SB 463 (Cisneros) contains several tax incentives that were originally proposed as separate bills: Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit Amendments, Sustainable Building Tax Credit, Advanced Energy Product Tax Credit, Biodiesel Fuel Production Tax Incentives, Solar Energy System Gross Receipts, and Agricultural Water Conservation Tax Credits.

"These vital pieces of legislation will work hand in glove with the other major clean energy bills I enacted earlier this session -- the Renewable Energy Transmission Authority and the quadrupling of the Renewable Portfolio Standard -- to continue to make New Mexico the nation's Clean Energy State," said Governor Richardson [see previous post on those two bills].