LOCAL COLUMN
OPINION: Clean energy should power communities, not just the grid
As New Mexico accelerates its transition to clean energy under the state鈥檚 Energy Transition Act (ETA), companies like DESRI, a utility-scale renewable energy developer, have helped to replace the expensive, polluting coal at the San Juan Generating Station. This clean solar and battery storage saves Public Service Company of New Mexico customers money on their electric bills, provides a tax base for San Juan County and its schools, and generates community and worker-transition money.
Bernalillo County introduced Industrial Revenue Bonds for approval to support a new $1.2 billion DESRI solar development on Albuquerque鈥檚 far West Mesa, representing another important opportunity to protect our environment, create jobs and strengthen our electric grid.
But when promised economic development comes to New Mexico, most of us can鈥檛 help but wonder what the local benefits are, especially when we offer big companies tax incentives to convince them to come here.
The project will generate 400 megawatts of electricity for the region and avoid the boom-and-bust cost of fuel that comes with gas and oil. But even clean energy projects should do more than generate clean, affordable electricity. They should also generate lasting benefits for the communities that host them. That is why the Sierra Club has stood up for Bernalillo County's new community benefits requirements for companies seeking economic development incentives and tax breaks.
Under the county's new approach, companies seeking incentives must demonstrate how their projects will advance community goals. The amount of financial support a project receives is tied directly to the benefits it provides to local residents. The policy also requires participating companies to contribute a portion of their tax savings to a community benefits fund, helping ensure that the gains from economic development are shared more broadly.
These reforms create a smarter, more accountable framework that ensures public investments deliver public value. And even though the solar project was proposed before the community benefits framework was finalized by the Bernalillo County Commission, the company worked with the county and community groups to accomplish much of what the new policy encourages. The commission approved the finalized agreement last week.
Going forward, companies that hire local workers, support apprenticeship and job training programs, partner with small and minority-owned businesses, and adopt practices that protect natural resources and promote sustainability, including how projects are sited, will qualify for greater tax benefits. Rather than treating these outcomes as optional add-ons, the county is making them central to the economic development process.
This approach also reflects a growing national consensus that clean energy projects succeed when communities are active partners in development. Bernalillo County's policy encourages the kind of investment we want that really delivers community value. Sierra Club members want to see clean energy projects reduce pollution, but they should also expand economic opportunities for our community. Tax breaks should not be blank checks. They should be tools that help communities achieve their shared goals. And while attracting investment is important, taxpayers deserve more than vague assurances that benefits will eventually trickle down.
As Bernalillo County implements its new community benefits framework, the DESRI solar project has an opportunity to become a model for how renewable energy development can advance both climate action and community prosperity. By linking public incentives to measurable outcomes for workers, small businesses and sustainability, county leaders have created a better path forward鈥攐ne that ensures Albuquerque's clean energy future is also a more equitable and inclusive one.
Camilla Feibelman is the director of the Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter.
