D e s e r t E x p o s u r e
July 2009
Solar Energy
Page: 2If New Mexico takes the option to dig and drill all its oil, gas, coal and uranium, and generate electricity for our neighbors so they can essentially waste most of it, will we be any better off than Nauru when our minerals are gone? We'll have all the holes in the ground, and a dusty view of the mountains, cluttered by miles of power lines. (Perhaps we can use the money to build spaceports, and enjoy the ride while it lasts.)
Even if we just stick to geothermal, solar and wind, not mining, we'll still have lots of power lines running from here to Phoenix and beyond. For example, the Deming Headlight recently reported on a BLM public meeting to tell local folks about the SunZia Southwest Transmission Project. It is mostly going to be on federal land, and the public's opinion is apparently not really needed. The SunZia preliminary study corridor shows the possible route of one or two 500-kilovolt transmission line(s) beginning in wind-rich Lincoln County, blocking views all the way across sunny Luna County and southwest New Mexico, into Phoenix.
The Relaxed Solution
There are plenty of easy ways to pick the "low-hanging fruit" of energy waste, which we've grown accustomed to because of years of artificially low energy prices. We already have more than enough power plants in New Mexico to meet all our local needs. By increasing use of our solar resource, pushed by federal and state incentives, we can make our own household energy at or close to home, and greatly reduce the load on our coal-burning plants.
The New Mexico Association of Counties is working on model ordinances to enact both solar-district bills passed by the legislature in the last session. These bills will allow local governments to finance solar equipment on individual residences, with the homeowner paying back the "loan" over many years through a small voluntary additional property tax assessment, paid for with energy savings.
If Phoenix or Los Angeles can't figure out how to get along without exploiting New Mexico's land, air and water, then maybe that's just too bad for them. It may seem cruel, but when New Mexico's energy economy shrinks instead of grows, what's the harm? We already have fewer railway trackmen, shoe repairmen, elevator operators and telephone operators than we used to, but thanks to the miracle of free-market capitalism, our economy adjusted itself anyway.
For more information, visit these websites: www.nmfirst.org, www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/prog/more/lands_realty/sunzia_southwest_transmission.html, www.nmlegis.gov/lcs/_session.aspx?chamber=H&legtype=B&legno=572&year=09, www.nmlegis.gov/lcs/_session.aspx?chamber=S&legtype=B&legno=647&year=09, www.nmlegis.gov/lcs/_session.aspx?chamber=S&legtype=B&legno=257&year=09.
Joel Chinkes teaches a solar electricity course twice a year at the Mimbres Valley Learning Center in Deming, and can be contacted at SolarGuy@PhotonHarvest.com
Most people's electricity bill, except for the bottom line in dollars, is cloaked in mystery. Close to nobody graduates from high school knowing what a kilowatt-hour is, although for their next 50 years everybody buys kWh by the thousands at ruinous cost. A "watt," named to honor the memory of James Watt (Scotsman, 1736-1819), is a speed measurement. It says how fast, at any instant, you are generating or consuming energy. 746 watts = one horsepower. A "watt-hour," like its big cousin, the "kilowatt-hour," is a measurement of how much energy you have generated or used over a period of time.