By ARCELIA ISAIS-GASTELUM
Albuquerque

July 29, the Public Regulation Commission unanimously approved the plan for replacement power for the SJGS that consisted of 100 percent renewable energy and battery storage.

This is a monumental step in the right direction, and I applaud our commissioners for their leadership.

A few years ago, PNM announced they were planning to shut down the last stacks of the San Juan coal plant by 2022. Keeping it running is no longer economically feasible, and though the industry has provided more than half our state’s energy for the last half century, it’s time to look toward newer, improved technologies to carry that burden.

Having that replacement power be 100 percent renewable energy is the best option we have. Over the past decade, the price of utility-scale solar and wind power has seen a dramatic decrease such that it is now cheaper than all other traditional energy generation sources.

Not just that, our state has world class renewable resources with 300 plus days of sunshine, our gusty plains, and our mostly untapped geothermal power brewing below the surface.

As someone on the younger side of our population, I am extraordinarily excited to see our communities powered by clean, sustainable energy within our lifetimes.

It gives me hope and something to look forward to as we grapple with the daily challenges we’re experiencing from one crisis that we can address and tackle another one looming in the horizon.