The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission on Wednesday announced that more than one-third of its planned 47 community solar power projects are operational.
When fully built out, the community solar program is expected to deliver 200 megawatts of renewable energy in areas serviced by Public Service Company of New Mexico, Southwestern Public Service Company and El Paso Electric, the PRC announced. As of Wednesday, 16 projects are online — stretching from Clovis to Santa Fe — and collectively generating about 71 megawatts of power.
The community solar program, which consists of large, shared installations that several customers can draw power from, is aimed at business owners, renters and people who’d prefer not to install rooftop panels, the PRC noted in a Wednesday news release.
While the current project has yet to reach its full goal of delivering 200 megawatts across 47 developments, the PRC in 2024 approved a 300-megawatt expansion, which has yet to be scheduled.
The projects currently online include the Cuidando Los Niños Community Solar Project and Central New Mexico Community College Community Solar Project in Belen; the Pino solar project in Las Vegas; Global Give a Book Community Solar Project in Los Lunas; Bent Bow Solar, LLC in Salem; SLT Las Cruces and Wings for Life Community Solar Project in Las Cruces; Curry Road North and Clovis Concrete North in Clovis; Locker 505 Community Solar Project in Rio Rancho; Reynolds in Tularosa; WESST Project and Ben Thomas in Roswell; SLT Hidalgo in Lordsburg; Rockhound Sol Community Solar Garden in Deming and Juniper Sol Community Solar Garden in Santa Fe.
Trina Jellison, CEO of the anti-child homelessness nonprofit Cuidando Los Niños, told Source NM she was excited to see the project come online.
Although the site is in Belen, PNM customers in Albuquerque can sign up to receive energy from it. Jellison said it overlaps with her nonprofit’s goal of addressing youth homelessness in large part because a portion of the energy is dedicated to low-income residents.
“Not everybody can afford to put solar on their house,” she said.
The PRC’s community solar website, csnewmexico.com, has instructions on how residents can join the program.
While the state’s efforts continue to build community solar projects, federal funding for residential solar projects is currently under litigation.
The federal government has cut more than $177 million in grant funding to New Mexico since President Donald Trump took office in early 2025, and the lion’s share of those cuts were to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s “Solar for All” program, according to a recent New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration report.
About $156 million of those cuts were to the solar program, which sought to help install solar panels in low-income communities. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez signed onto a multi-state lawsuit in October to challenge the cuts.
As of Wednesday, the case is still pending in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
