New Mexico the most coal-heavy state to pledge 100% carbon-free energy by 2045

Enlarge / University of New Mexico Taos Campus solar photovoltaic array. (credit: Getty Images)

On Tuesday, New Mexico's state House of Representatives passed the "Energy Transition Act," which commits the state to getting 100 percent of its energy from carbon-free sources by 2045. The act passed the state Senate last week. Now the bill awaits the signature of New Mexico's Governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham.

Governor Grisham's office told GreenTechMedia on Tuesday that she would "sign the bill as quickly as possible."

The bill includes interim goals mandating that 50 percent of the state's energy mix be renewable by 2030 and 80 percent of the energy mix be renewable by 2040. The state currently buys no nuclear power, which is not renewable but qualifies as a zero-carbon energy source. The bill passed yesterday does not require that 100 percent of the state's energy be renewable by 2045; it just specifies that no electricity come from a carbon-emitting source.

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