近距离内射合集

In Albuquerque, the Reeves Generating Station has been producing electricity for 68 years. The natural gas plant is an old, noisy workhorse 鈥� and one of the few fossil fuel assets remaining on Public Service Company of New Mexico鈥檚 electric grid.

As PNM transitions away from fossil-fueled power, Reeves and other natural gas plants are among the most important generators in the utility鈥檚 fleet, PNM officials say. The gas turbines run essentially around the clock in the summer, when the electric load peaks.

PNM鈥檚 solar and wind plants generate plenty of electricity during the day for the utility鈥檚 556,358 customers. PNM鈥檚 employees at natural gas plants such as Reeves, though, often work night shifts.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 have enough renewables to carry the nighttime hours,鈥� Omni Warner, senior vice president of PNM operations, said from inside an office connected to the Rio Bravo Generating Station, also in Albuquerque. 鈥淲e lean on our thermal fleet to cover the generation for customers during the nighttime hours. That鈥檚 the only way we can serve.鈥�

But the exhaust stacks and imposing steel frames of PNM鈥檚 gas fleet could go the way of New Mexico鈥檚 coal plants. In August 2024, PNM demolished the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station, after nearly a half century of operations. A 2031 PNM exit from the Four Corners Power Plant 鈥� a coal plant on the Navajo Nation鈥� will lead to the loss of 200 megawatts of power generation.

Originally, PNM planned to retire Reeves at the end of its depreciable life in 2030. But in its latest integrated resource plan, filed with the state Public Regulation Commission on Sept. 1, PNM proposed to continue operations at Reeves through 2044 鈥� the year before Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham鈥檚 signature climate law, the 2019 Energy Transition Act, mandates that investor-owned utilities transition to 100% carbon-free power. The 149-megawatt Rio Bravo plant is also slated for retirement by 2044.

PNM鈥檚 September filing 鈥� an update to a 2023 plan 鈥� shows how the electric grid will transform by 2045. Since 2023, PNM says it has added or obtained regulatory approval for 1,585 megawatts of new generators and batteries. For perspective, that is 77% of PNM鈥檚 2025 peak load of 2,053 megawatts.

From 2029-2032, PNM wants to incorporate 800 megawatts of new wind energy; 240 megawatts of new solar energy; 610 megawatts of new battery storage facilities; and 40 megawatts of new natural gas generators 鈥� which will be an expansion of the existing La Luz Energy Center, a 41-megawatt natural gas plant in Valencia County, which was placed in service in 2016 and serves Albuquerque鈥檚 load pocket.

The plan said Reeves, which has a capacity of nearly 150 megawatts, 鈥渃ontinues to play a critical role in supporting transmission reliability on PNM鈥檚 system, particularly in the Albuquerque load pocket.鈥�

As firm, dispatchable fossil fuel plants close, PNM and utilities across the state are turning to battery storage. In August, at PNM鈥檚 Sandia Energy Center, a new 60-megawatt battery storage facility in Albuquerque, Christian Reeves, PNM鈥檚 senior manager of generation construction and joint projects, said the batteries have been charging off the power grid all day. At around 5 p.m., the batteries will begin discharging, he said.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 actually generate any power here,鈥� Reeves said. 鈥淎ll we鈥檙e doing here is saving the power from the wind power, from the solar and anything else.鈥�

He added, 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the thing about PNM now is that we鈥檙e pretty much built out for solar and wind. We have plenty of power on sunny days like this.鈥�

But PNM and other utilities will struggle to power the grid with just wind, solar and batteries. By 2045, PNM forecasts that its peak load will be somewhere between 2,800 megawatts and 6,400 megawatts, according to its plan. The lower number is under a low economic development scenario. The higher figure is under 鈥渆xtreme鈥� economic development, the plan says.

Like others, PNM is waiting for commercial geothermal power plants. Hydrogen could also provide a cleaner fuel for its natural gas plants. And PNM still gets power from the Palo Verde nuclear plant, located in Maricopa County, Arizona.

The energy transition, however, could result in rate changes of up to an additional 10 cents per kilowatt-hour by 2036, on top of what customers are already paying. That鈥檚 according to Lisa Goodman, vice president for investor and community relations at PNM. The average residential customer uses 600 kilowatt-hours per month. So an additional dime per kilowatt-hour would represent an additional $60 to the average monthly residential bill over the next 10 years.

In an email, Goodman wrote that 鈥渢he energy transition requires a significant amount of investment in the grid, but the resulting impact to customer costs may be tempered with additional customer load.鈥� In other words, if PNM adds more customers, costs for everyone could decrease.

Potential rate hikes could be, on an annual percentage basis, 鈥渓ower than the forecasted rate of inflation,鈥� Goodman said.

鈥淧NM remains firmly committed to New Mexico鈥檚 Energy Transition Act and its state-mandated goal for carbon-free energy by 2045,鈥� she said.

Justin Horwath covers tech and energy for the Journal. You can reach him at jhorwath@abqjournal.com.