STUDY LOW-INCOME HOUSE SOLAR DEVICES

SM010

SENATE MEMORIAL 10

57
th legislature
- STATE OF NEW MEXICO -
second session
, 2026

INTRODUCED BY

Harold Pope

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE ENERGY, MINERALS AND NATURAL RESOURCES
DEPARTMENT TO CONVENE A WORKING GROUP TO DESIGN A PILOT PROJECT
TO EVALUATE THE POTENTIAL ECONOMIC, SAFETY AND GRID IMPACTS OF
INSTALLING PORTABLE SOLAR GENERATION DEVICES IN LOW-INCOME
HOUSEHOLDS.

WHEREAS, the Energy Transition Act established New Mexico
as a national leader in clean energy, and the renewable energy
portfolio standard requires the energy portfolio of an electric
public utility to be composed of fifty percent renewable energy
by 2030 and eighty percent by 2040 and to achieve one hundred
percent carbon neutrality by 2045; and

WHEREAS, despite this progress, many low-income New Mexico
residents continue to face significant energy insecurity, with
many households below the federal poverty line spending sixteen
to thirty percent of their income on energy costs, compared to
the state average of just three percent; and

WHEREAS, traditional rooftop solar installations remain
inaccessible to the majority of Americans, including renters,
apartment dwellers and households that cannot afford the high
upfront investment or do not qualify for traditional financing;
and

WHEREAS, plug-in or balcony solar systems, which are
small-scale, portable solar generation devices that plug
directly into a standard wall outlet, offer a potential
solution to bridge this gap by eliminating soft costs of
rooftop installation companies, such as marketing, installation
labor, permitting, overhead and profit, which comprise fifty to
sixty-five percent of the costs of traditional rooftop arrays;
and

WHEREAS, a controlled pilot project is a supportive step
to gather real-world data in New Mexico on the grid interaction
and economic benefit of portable solar generation devices in
preparation for wider legislative or regulatory frameworks
being established;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE
OF NEW MEXICO that the energy, minerals and natural resources
department be requested to convene a working group composed of
one or more electric utilities or electric service providers
operating within or serving the state and one or more nonprofit
or mission-driven organizations that demonstrate experience in
equitable clean energy deployment, community-based engagement
with low-income households and the development or
implementation to design a portable solar pilot project; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the energy, minerals and
natural resources department be requested to select nonprofit
or mission-driven organizations to participate in the working
group that demonstrate a commitment to serving renters and low-income households, the capacity to conduct participant
education and outreach and the technical ability to support
safe installation, monitoring and evaluation of portable solar
generation devices; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group be requested
to design a portable solar pilot project that allows for the
installation of portable solar generation devices on the
rooftops or balconies of between five and ten low-income
households within the service territories of participating
electric public utilities, including where a generation and
transmission cooperative coordinates or supports implementation
in partnership with its member utilities, and the primary
objectives of the project be to:

A. quantify the direct economic benefits to
participants, specifically analyzing the monthly reduction in
energy costs for low-income households; and

B. assess the impact of these distributed micro-generators on participating utilities' local distribution to
inform future legislation; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group be requested
to present its findings and recommendations to the interim
legislative committee dealing with energy and natural resources
by November 1, 2026; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be
transmitted to the secretary of energy, minerals and natural
resources.

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