On October 26 and 27 of 2020 New Mexico (including RGF’s home town Albuquerque) received a big snow storm which dumped about 10 inches of snow on the area. Snow is one of many weather phenomena that impact electricity demand (and production, especially when so-called “renewables” are involved).
And, while PNM is currently required to achieve a 20% renewable standard (a requirement that we estimate will cost the State economy $444 million this year alone) and has plans to achieve 100% by 2045, the real-time tracker available on PNM’s website shows that PNM is a long way from relying on unreliable energy sources.
As of 4:30pm on the 27th (several hours after the snow stopped falling) PNM was getting just 9% of its electricity from “renewable” sources. Results vary depending on demand and weather, but 9% is a paltry number.
This is not news. It takes decades to ramp up renewables to a much larger percentage of total power production. And the state’s renewables mandate does not have to be met until the mid-21st century, decades away from now. Actually, 9% renewable production at this very early moment is pretty good. This story is not news and adds little to nothing to our understanding of things.