Sizzling over to the Senate: Geothermal grants bill passes House

SANTA FE — Hot off the House floor, a bill to broaden which organizations can apply for state geothermal project grants is advancing to the Senate.

House Bill 289, passed by a 35-23 vote, would add half a sentence to existing state statute, allowing entities that participate legally in a competitive bidding process to apply for state grants.

That’s in addition to universities, political subdivisions of the state, and pueblos and tribal nations that can already seek the money.

The legislation would also come with a $10 million appropriation to the geothermal projects development fund, for the purpose of doling out geothermal project grants.

That money isn’t included in HB289, but rather the budget currently awaiting Senate changes and approval. It’s a cut from the $20 million the bill initially sought out.

Renewable energy experts have described geothermal energy as the final 10% New Mexico needs to fully transition to renewable energy generation, filling the gaps solar and wind energy leave on cloudy or windless days. New Mexico is naturally poised as one of the best locations in the nation to utilize geothermal energy because of the Rio Grande rift.

But it was a bit of a rocky conversation to get the bill through the House.

Republicans had many questions about details and consequences of HB289 in a nearly three-hour debate on the floor.

Rep. John Block, R-Alamogordo, asked why the bill doesn’t include nuclear energy, a priority alongside geothermal energy utilization of new U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright.

Bill sponsor Rep. Patricia Roybal Caballero, D-Albuquerque, said her bill doesn’t have anything to do with other energy sources.

“We’re speaking about one of the most abundant and clean sources of energy, and that is geothermal,” she said.

Rep. Jack Chatfield, R-Mosquero, said he grew up in Truth or Consequences, formerly named Hot Springs, after the abundant sources of water heated naturally by geothermal energy. He asked what the energy would cost after its generation. Roybal Caballero said it’s about $80 per megawatt of power, similar to that of natural gas but with more stable pricing.

She also said geothermal project lifespans are 20-50 years.

“That’s great,” Chatfield said. “One of the things that we look at in our area, whenever anything comes in, be it geothermal, gas, whatever, is how many jobs does that create? How much money is left in our community?”

Most votes against the bill came from Republicans, including Chatfield and Block, but Democratic Reps. Derrick Lente of Sandia Pueblo and Matthew McQueen of Galisteo also voted no.