New Mexico community solar savings for low income households grow as the program expands
Community solar lets a New Mexico household subscribe to a share of a solar project built somewhere else and get a credit on its electricity bill, with no panels to install and no roof needed. In July 2026 the Public Regulation Commission approved a second competitive solicitation for the program, called Phase 2, and confirmed a statewide community solar target of 500 megawatts by 2030, more than double the 200 megawatt cap the program started with in 2021. New Mexico already had about 16 community solar projects online and 48 more under development by July 2026, so this expansion adds capacity, not a first project for the state.
The Coalition for Community Solar Access, a developer trade group, says community solar today often cuts a New Mexico subscriber electricity bill by 10% to 15%.
Community solar delivers direct savings for New Mexicans, often reducing their electricity bills by 10-15 percent.
Nick Bowman, senior manager of markets and research at the Coalition for Community Solar Access, quoted in source 4, the Coalition July 2026 statement. Source 4.
The Commission approved the additional 300 megawatts on October 3, 2024, effective November 1, 2024, on top of the original 200 megawatt cap, according to source 1.
Show the numbers
| Initial cap 2021 | 200 |
| Cap added 2024 | 300 |
| Combined target 2030 | 500 |
How New Mexico built low income savings into community solar
New Mexico created its community solar program through the Community Solar Act, Senate Bill 84, enrolled April 5, 2021. The Public Regulation Commission opened a docket, the case file for a proceeding, and finished the Community Solar Rule on July 12, 2022, setting an initial statewide cap of 200 megawatts split among the 3 investor owned utilities in the state, with each project capped at 5 megawatts.
The 3 shares add to the original 200 megawatt statewide cap set when the program began in 2021, before the Commission later raised the combined target to 500 megawatts.
Show the numbers
| Public Service Company of New Mexico | 125 |
| Southwestern Public Service Company | 45 |
| El Paso Electric | 30 |
Developers submitted 408 project bids totaling more than 1.7 gigawatts, so the 200 megawatt cap let the Commission select only 47 of them. Every one of the 47 selected projects pledged to reserve 50% or more of its output for low income subscribers, above the 30% statutory floor. Low income under the law means a household at or below 80% of the area median income, or enrolled in another state low income program, and a utility must keep crediting a subscriber bill for at least 25 years after a project connects.
The Commission own November 2024 report shows those first 47 developers had pledged low income subscribers 20% to 30% off their bills for at least 5 years when their bids were selected. Now that many of those projects are running, the Coalition for Community Solar Access says real world savings measure lower today, at 10% to 15%.
The financial savings of community solar is especially important for our most vulnerable households.
Erica Renaud, sustainability lead for the City of Santa Fe, quoted in source 4. Source 4.
What New Mexico regulators changed in July 2026
The Commission decision in early July 2026 falls under docket 24 00258 UT. It raises the maximum share of a utility capacity allocation that a single subscriber organization, the company managing a project subscribers, may hold from 20% to 30%, and lets the program administrator select projects totaling up to 150% of available capacity. A rehearing period, when a party can ask the Commission to reconsider the decision, runs through August 3, 2026, and utilities must submit consolidated billing plans, combining a subscriber solar credit and utility bill into 1 statement, to the Commission by January 1, 2027.
I'm hearing from our member companies there's been a huge interest by New Mexicans for community solar.
Nick Bowman, senior manager of markets and research at the Coalition for Community Solar Access, quoted in source 2, Albuquerque Journal, published July 16, 2026. Source 2.
Bowman says if every phase 1 and phase 2 project gets built, New Mexico community solar could reach 500 megawatts by 2030, about 4% of the total power New Mexico produces.