INTERVIEW: Standard Solar CEO on why New Mexico community solar, utilities should be working together not fighting

After February's defeat of a bill to establish community solar in New Mexico, organizers are once again picking up the movement to support the development in the state. New Mexico utility laws prevent community solar from being developed in the state, despite 20 other states nationwide allowing the practice. 

State leaders established SOL-utions New Mexico this week, a coalition featuring groups such as Vote Solar, SEIA, Western Leaders Network, PACE-Fund NM and Solar United Neighbors to continue the push for community solar in the state. Although the legislature failed to pass a bill that would allow the practice, the Senate passed Memorial 63 last year to create a working group to review community solar initiatives and develop recommendations, with plans to present to the legislative communities on 19 January 2021 when the new legislative session begins. 

“New Mexico communities have been asking for enhanced access to solar energy generation for years,” said Ben Shelton, Policy and Political Director for Conservation Voters New Mexico said in a statement. “This legislation will have the potential to ensure that equity and access is a central theme in New Mexico’s transition to renewable energy.”

Although the state currently does not allow community solar, developers experience in community projects say that utility cooperation is a constant battle, and key if the state wants a success story. Scott Wiater is the CEO of Standard Solar, a development company with a portfolio of 56 percent community solar projects and builder of a 9.8 MW solar farm in Gallup, New Mexico. He said community solar is the next natural evolution for the industry, as it gives the chance to offer solar to even more customers, making it appealing to many developers. 

"What we’ve found is that community solar is easier for a developer and the reason it's easier is because you don’t have to worry about the offtaker. All you have to do is develop the projects..and then you’re done," Wiater said. 

While New Mexico is not alone in its lack of community solar options, it faces the same utility problem that Wiater said he has frequently come across in building, although the state may be remedying it come January depending on the working group's recommendation. At present, the state's largest electric provider is the Public Service Company of New Mexico, which plans to be 100 percent carbon-free by 2040. 

"In a lot of states, utilities are fighting very hard to box out third-party ownership and if there is any solar that happens in their territories they want to own it so they don’t lose revenue," Wiater said. "So that’s a constant theme we’re up against, and its not always a benefit to the rate base...it usually takes legislation to overcome that."

For Wiater, the future of community solar lies in a mutual understanding between utilities, developers and third-party offtakers. He noted the movement in New York state to have the utilities do back office work of billing and collections for community solar, as they're better equipped for the practice than some of the offtakers. 

"That’s a service that the utility is there for and could provide a valuable service in doing that. So I think the future is some sort of hybrid, whether its utility-owned or third-party owned, I think there’s a service that the distribution utility can provide and we can provide back to the utility with a more stable grid and some resilience in their grid," Wiater said. "So I think it works both ways, instead of fighting each other we should work together."