Santa Fe, NM (KKOB) — New Mexico House Majority Whip Reena Szczepanski and State Senator Harold Pope announced Monday, they are sponsoring the Local Solar Access Fund in the 2024 legislative session. This groundbreaking proposal will create an accessible grant fund for community-owned solar and storage projects at the New Mexico Finance Authority.
The Local Solar Access Fund will issue grants to construct solar and storage projects that power public buildings and infrastructure owned by NMFA-qualified entities, including municipal governments, county governments, Tribal governments, school districts, conservation districts, rural water associations, and higher educational institutions. The fund will also issue planning grants for solar and storage projects, including for contracting grant writers and federal funding experts to leverage unprecedented federal funding opportunities and technical experts to conduct feasibility studies and plan solar and storage projects. The fund will be structured to ensure equity, prioritizing funding to rural and under-resourced communities in New Mexico that otherwise would be unable to access funding or financing for these projects.
The Local Solar Access Fund will be established with a non-reverting non-recurring appropriation of $110 million. It will also be structured to receive additional federal and private funding.
“I think there’s a groundswell right now in New Mexico to get things done, to take advantage of available federal infrastructure funding, and to build projects today that will benefit us for generations,” said House Majority Whip Szczepanski. “We have heard from communities around our state, and we know that they want to build local solar and disaster resiliency projects but still lack the capital and capacity. This fund is going to change that; it empowers our local communities to lead in creating a solar future for our state.”
“I’m proud that the Local Solar Access Fund is one of my priorities this session,” said Senator Pope. “The Local Solar Access Fund will help our communities access solar, which benefits the environment, and also helps local governments save money for important community needs while supporting public health, safety, and local investment in renewable technology and jobs.”
Public Power New Mexico Campaign Director Alysha Shaw said, “This policy is a product of months of engagement and outreach with local and Tribal governments and community-based organizations throughout our state. We learned that our rural communities frequently don’t have the resources to access federal or even private funding for solar and storage projects. The Local Solar Access Fund will be a game changer that will help New Mexico leverage time-sensitive federal funding and receive accessible state funding to build solar and storage projects that will lower energy costs and enhance community safety and security.”
Public Power New Mexico will host a webinar on the Local Solar Access Fund with Representative Szczepanski and Senator Pope on Tuesday, January 9 from 5:30-7 PM on Zoom. The legislators will be joined by Trenton Marlar and Stephen Claremont, researchers with Embold Research, a nonpartisan research organization. They will present the results of their newest statewide survey of New Mexican voters’ perceptions and preferences around solar energy and policy. Advance registration is required at: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_IWdMt64hQYOyXy9W1IKmcw#/registration
