PNM just filed its energy plan for 2028. Find out what new energy resources the utility wants.

The Public Service Company of New Mexico wants to introduce new energy resources in 2028 to meet an anticipated increasing demand for electricity, which the utility said will make it 77% carbon free by 2028.

The new resources include 430 megawatts of new solar energy and battery storage to its system and permission to continue buying energy from a natural gas-fired power plant for another decade.

PNM submitted its 2028 resources request to the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission on Monday.

“The need for additional power to serve growing customer needs is clear,” PNM President and CEO Don Tarry said in a statement.

The only project the utility is requesting ownership of is the “Sunbelt” project. That would allow PNM to start construction on a 100-megawatt solar energy and 30-megawatt battery energy storage system in northwestern New Mexico’s San Juan County.

There’s also an option to increase the project’s battery storage to 50 megawatts — to add 20 megawatts of storage to the Central Consolidated School District.

It’s an area that’s economically struggled since the massive coal-fired San Juan Generating Station fully shut down in 2022, and residents and energy advocates have repeatedly voiced concerns that PNM has neglected the area since. The Sunbelt project would be located just south of where the San Juan power plant once was, according to PNM.

“This plan specifically calls for energy investments in the Farmington area as part our commitment to continue supporting the region’s economy, while ensuring the ongoing transition to carbon-free energy for all of our customers by 2040,” Tarry said.

The battery storage proposals don’t end there. PNM also wants to establish energy storage agreements to set up two four-hour battery storage systems with a cap of 150 megawatts each in Bernalillo County — the Sun Lasso and Corazon projects.

All three projects add to at least 430 megawatts in new renewable energy resources in 2028.

PNM is also seeking permission to continue obtaining energy from a fossil fuel-generated power plant.

The utility’s current agreement to buy energy from the natural gas-fired Valencia Power Plant expires in May 2028, so PNM is also asking the PRC to approve extending an 167-megawatt purchase agreement through 2039.

However, the utility would still meet clean energy standards set in the state’s Energy Transition Act. PNM would be 77% carbon-free in 2028 if the PRC approves its plan, according to the utility.

PNM is asking for state approval of the plan within the next nine months.