Santa Fe has a choice for its renewable energy future
Iagree that “Renewable energy is right way forward,” My View, April 6). However, I’d like to respond to some of the points made in the piece by Travis Kellerman.
He wrote, “Even when clean energy is being generated, it may not be close enough to the point of use to be transmitted efficiently.” Yet, it’s my understanding that selling energy long-distance to other states isn’t going to be a problem; in fact, arbitrage is a very lucrative business, so it seems to me proximity is not really an issue.
He states, “The solar array portion will produce enough clean energy to power more than 27,000 New Mexico homes.” We’re unable to substantiate this statement, so we’d ask Kellerman to provide proof with an actual agreement or contract that stipulates where the proposed power from this site will go.
What we do know is that selling power out-of-state will bring the biggest profits to a company whose foremost goal is to serve their stockholders and not necessarily the residents of New Mexico.
Further, he claims, “The battery storage component of Rancho Viejo site will act as a grid stabilizer when operational.” Do your readers know that in 2023 AES was fined $6 million by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for energy market violations?
And in 2001, “Williams and AES Corp. [were accused] of withholding electricity from two California power plants and running more profitable plants instead” and were ordered “to explain why they shouldn’t return $10 million in profits from the alleged scheme.” How can we be assured AES will supply energy to New Mexico when needed since it appears the company has broken contractual promises in the past when it suits profits?
Referring to the AES project, Kellerman continued, “Its 48 megawatt battery storage component is one of the safest ways.” First, let’s clarify the amount of battery storage we’re talking about. In its January 2023 application to Santa Fe County, AES stated 48 megawatts of battery storage. That’s true. That would suggest the company wanted to build a community solar installation, but that’s no longer the case.
AES changed plans to a much larger facility upwards of 140 MW as determined by our engineers, who reviewed information AES provided and has been confirmed in court by AES’ own expert.
That said, large scale lithium-ion battery storage comes with risks and consequences to our environment and neighborhoods, including the possibility of fires and the release of toxic PFAs or ‘forever’ chemicals. For those reasons, this utility-scaled facility should be sited much farther away from existing communities. Readers can learn more about the potential hazards at NMresponsible. com, the website for New Mexicans for Responsible Renewable Energy.
As I said, we support solar energy, and we even understand the importance of battery storage. But we do not need to hand over our energy future to an out-of-state-corporation. The Clean Energy Coalition for Santa Fe County recommends a much better and safer solution to move forward with that will truly benefit us all.
Our state has everything it needs to create a holistic micro-grid that will include small, medium and large projects that will all “talk to each other” and truly benefit local businesses, not just during construction, but in the long term.
It’s this alternative to the AES project that our engineers and experts are working on that I am very proud to be a part of. And we at the Clean Energy Coalition invite Kellerman’s SOMOS Solar to join us in creating something amazing we can all be proud of.
Right now, Santa Fe has a choice.