Responsibility for renewable energy facts belongs to all of us
Sam and Wendy Hitt’s My View (“PNM shareholders for a responsible future,” May 6), misrepresented several important issues that are critical to shareholders as well as the Public Service or New Mexico’s customers and the public in general.
Of significant concern was the assertion that PNM is asking federal regulators to block a vote on a shareholder resolution they introduced. The truth is that the Hitts introduced the resolution a year earlier and, while it failed, the company listened to the concern and published the requested information on its website. Specifically, PNM created a public inventory of all the company’s generation assets and their current book value. PNM was not attempting to keep shareholders in the dark and, in fact, proactively sought to address the Hitts’ concerns publicly.
As a result, when the Hitts again sought to introduce the same resolution, PNM consulted the Securities and Exchange Commission about the necessity to include a resolution that already had been addressed. The SEC agreed it had been addressed, saying, “The company’s public disclosures compare favorably with the guidelines of the proposal and the company has, therefore, substantially implemented the proposal.”
In addition, the Hitts are dissatisfied with the speed at which PNM is moving to renewable energy, but there are several factors critical in a transition to cleaner energy. While advances in renewable technology have turned electricity generation on its head, electricity producers cannot simply walk away from contractual agreements, such as that of Four Corners power plant, without significant monetary consequences.
The Hitts claim that PNM’s move to renewable energy is a “slow walk.” But the truth of the matter is that PNM is charged with responsibly investing in its generating system to provide reliable energy in the most economical way possible. PNM also must assure it is providing power when needed, and this includes times when the sun is not shining or the wind is not blowing.
So how is PNM looking toward a brighter, sustainable future? PNM partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy to study two potential game changers. The Prosperity Project, just south of Albuquerque, has large-scale storage of renewable energy as well as software to dispatch that energy should a cloud move in front of the sun and drop the voltage or a sudden burst of wind spike the energy output. This socalled “smoothing” technology is essential to dispatch stored renewable energy from batteries onto the grid within nanoseconds, thus ensuring reliability.
Instead of creating obstacles, we would encourage all parties to talk responsibly about the facts and have an honest conversation about the technological challenges of renewables. When we sit down and acknowledge facts of the past and the present, only then can we together create facts to build the energy future New Mexico needs and deserves.