A conversation with EMNRD on clean energy tax credits

Interested in learning more about clean energy technology, how it works and if you should use it?

Rebecca “Puck” Stair is the guest on this week’s Business Outlook podcast. Stair is the director of the Energy Conservation and Management Division at the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department.

She speaks about the state’s clean energy opportunities, prime to take advantage of now, and why she thinks New Mexicans should adopt renewable energy resources like solar panels or electric vehicles.

Business Outlook podcasts are released on Monday afternoons and are available on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Here’s a preview of the conversation, edited for length and clarity.

Are you from New Mexico?

“I’ve been here 20 years, so in another 14 generations, I can say that I’m from here. Born and raised in D.C., and I came to New Mexico on purpose because it felt right. And delighted to be here.”

What’s kept you here?

“I mean, what hasn’t? (I love) the skies, the stars, the nature, the people, the culture. It’s just a fantastic place to live.”

So tell me about your work at the Energy Conservation and Management Division.

“The governor pointed me to this position a little over a year ago. I started in September 2023, and it’s been just a whirlwind train track, fantastic situation ever since.

The Energy Conservation and Management Division oversees New Mexico’s efforts to basically flip into the renewable future. So anything green energy, you name it, we probably have our fingers on it at some point — modernizing the grid, EVs, heat pumps, insulation. ...

The number of programs we have is growing really quickly. We have about 30 different programs and ... over $700 million under management, some form of grant or tax rebate or loan to help New Mexico flip into a cheaper, cleaner future.”

Let’s talk about opportunities ECAM offers for solar panel usage.

“If your listeners take one thing away from this podcast, it will be this website: cleanenergy.nm.gov. And we’ve created that website because there’s so many opportunities and it’s so hard to wade through and know what you’re eligible for or the income requirements or the geographical requirements. ...

So for solar panels, there’s basically three different ways to get help with solar panels. One is a tax credit that the state offers. So if you’re commercial or residential, you can get up to 10% or $6,000 off your solar panels in the form of a tax credit. ...

There’s also another tax credit that the state runs called the sustainable buildings tax credit, which can also cover solar panels to some extent.

And then the third option is a grant program from the feds called Solar for All, which I’m very proud that our team won last year. It’s $156 million for low-income solar in New Mexico. That program is not available quite yet; you can imagine it’s a big deal to roll out.”

I’m often hearing concerns from people of, ‘Solar is so expensive, or I don’t know if it’s advanced enough that I want to jump on it.’ Why do you think people should use solar?

“There’s two basic reasons to use solar. One is the fuel is free, so once you install the panels, at that point forward, it’s really free electricity. The other is that it can give you your own resilience. ... There’s a world where you can make your own power for your own house or your own business, even if the grid goes down. And if you pair those with batteries, which are also the tech is advancing very quickly and the costs are coming down, you can what’s called ‘island’ and support yourself whether the sun is shining or not.”

What EV opportunities does the state offer?

“So there’s EVs, and then there’s charging for EVs — and I’ll just broaden it to say clean cars in general, to include hybrids and there’s also fuel cell vehicles. There’s quite a lot out there. ..

So there’s a state tax credit for clean cars, and the amount varies depending on whether it’s an EV or hybrid and whether it’s year one of the program or year two or year three. So I just urge your listeners, if they’re considering a clean car, think about it sooner rather than later, because every year that they wait, the amount of the tax credit goes down a little bit. ...”

And it’s not just new cars; it’s used cars as well.

“Yes, that was really innovative of the Legislature is that they allowed used EVs and used hybrids to be eligible as well. Very smart.”

It’s interesting, this move to make these clean energy options more accessible, because you see all the time that it’s not reaching low-income communities.

“The challenge with a lot of clean tech is there’s, as you mentioned, this initial upfront cost, but then after that, after you own the thing, the EV or the solar panels, it’s very, very cheap.

So a lot of these programs are designed to offset or help with that upfront cost, because after that, there’s almost no maintenance in some cases, or it’s very cheap.

I own an EV and I subscribe to (the Public Service Company of New Mexico’s) special charging program for EVs, and so I fill up my tank for $3. It adds up so much. So we’re just trying to help New Mexicans get over that initial hump, and then life is really easy on the other side.”