Members of the Senate Conservation Committee meet Saturday, Feb. 8, 2026, at the Roundhouse in Santa Fe to discuss a bill that would classify nuclear energy as renewable under the state’s renewable portfolio standard; the committee later voted Tuesday to reject the bill with a ‘Do Not Pass’ recommendation. Courtesy image

By MARLENE WILDEN
Los Alamos Daily Post
marlene@ladailypost.com

SANTA FE – A proposal to classify nuclear power as a form of renewable energy in New Mexico was effectively killed Tuesday in the Senate Conservation Committee, where lawmakers voted 5-4 on a do-not-pass motion for SB 78, Nuclear Energy as Renewable Energy.

The narrow vote halts the bill’s progress this session and reflects lawmakers’ reluctance to expand the definition of renewable energy in state law to include nuclear power, despite supporters’ repeated assurances that the measure was not intended as a referendum on the merits of nuclear in New Mexico’s energy future.

SB 78, sponsored by Sen. Anthony Thornton, R-19, sought to add nuclear energy—including small modular reactors and potentially fusion—to the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard, or RPS. New Mexico’s RPS includes solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and certain fuel cells. Hydropower was discussed as a strong long-term energy source in general though not practical because of limited water resources.

Dispatchable vs. Intermittent Power

Supporters said the bill addressed the ongoing need for baseload, round-the-clock power as the electric grid relies more heavily on intermittent sources.

Proponents noted the limitations of solar and wind, which depend on weather and daylight and often require large-scale battery storage. Senators heard testimony that scaling storage to support thousands of megawatts of intermittent generation could cost billions of dollars.

Dr. Van Romero, a physics professor at New Mexico Tech, cited data showing weeklong periods when combined wind and solar generation is insufficient to meet grid demand, leaving natural gas as the only currently available dispatchable backup. Romero said nuclear power could eventually fill that role and help the state meet its 2050 zero-emissions targets under the New Mexico Energy Transition Act, or ETA.

The ETA, SB 489, signed into law by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on March 22, 2019, established mandatory renewable energy standards. Utilities are required to generate 50% of electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and have a target of 80% by 2040. The law also mandates 100% zero-carbon electricity for investor-owned utilities by 2045 and rural electric cooperatives by 2050.

Environmental Tradeoffs and ‘Renewable’ Definitions

Much of the debate centered on the legal definition of “renewable” and the environmental tradeoffs of existing RPS-listed energy sources. 

Supporters of SB 78 said all energy sources carry environmental costs. Wind turbines require large amounts of concrete, steel, copper and rare earth minerals, and their blades are difficult to recycle. Large solar arrays can disturb fragile desert ecosystems, depend on mining and toxic processing, and face unresolved end-of-life waste issues. Biomass, while classified as renewable, emits carbon dioxide over its life cycle.

Opponents countered that renewable energy is defined by its ability to be naturally replenished. Uranium, they said, is finite, with estimates of about 200 years of economically recoverable supply at current usage levels.

Legacy of Uranium and Waste Storage Concerns

Sen. Angel Charley, D-30, drew a sharp distinction between being “technology agnostic” and representing communities that have “been completely devastated by uranium mining,” including workers and families who suffered severe health impacts. For them, redefining nuclear as renewable risks erasing or minimizing that legacy.

Lawmakers also raised concerns about nuclear waste. Supporters said commercial nuclear waste is heavily regulated and typically stored on-site at reactors in reinforced casks, and that national solutions such as a centralized repository are technically feasible. Opponents countered that the U.S. still lacks a universally accepted permanent disposal site, citing long-standing debate over proposals such as Yucca Mountain.

The potential deployment of small modular reactors across the state, with waste stored at or near each site, alarmed some lawmakers, who said it could create a patchwork of long-lived radioactive storage locations without a clear national policy.

Regulatory Questions and Economic Policy

Analysts from the Public Regulation Commission (PRC) and the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) flagged that SB 78 did not spell out how nuclear would fit into existing frameworks for renewable energy certificates, verification standards, tracking and compliance. Critics said this would leave major implementation questions to regulators after the statute is in place, rather than resolving them in the legislative process.

Bill sponsors said embedding nuclear in the RPS framework could carry long-term economic implications beyond compliance. Future projects could factor that eligibility into financing models. Energy analysts say that kind of statutory certainty can reduce policy risk and improve investment prospects by clarifying that nuclear power would qualify under state mandates rather than be treated as a separate zero-carbon resource.

Some senators worried the bill would allow utilities to meet RPS targets “on paper” by counting out‑of‑state nuclear generation they already purchase—such as power from the Palo Verde nuclear plant—without adding new in‑state renewable facilities. They said the Renewable Energy Act was intended to spur new renewable development and associated economic benefits in New Mexico, from wind leases for ranchers to local construction jobs.

Supporters said New Mexico has significant uranium resources, existing fuel processing capacity and the potential to build a fully integrated nuclear fuel and power sector that could deliver high-wage jobs. They repeatedly linked energy production to economic growth, arguing that states and countries generating more energy tend to be more prosperous.

“We have some of the richest uranium resources on the planet right here in New Mexico, and I believe we’ve learned enough in the last 70 years to develop those resources safely. What we have, self-contained in this state, is a complete circle of fuel for power generation,” said Sen. Larry Scott, R-42.

A Nuanced Rejection

After two days of questioning, the committee voted “Do Not Pass.”

Sen. Joseph Cervantes, D-31, made a point to clarify that the vote should not be read as a rejection of nuclear energy itself. He said he sees nuclear as a potential alternative energy source but could not support redefining it as renewable under the current statutory framework.

Lawmakers signaled that the discussion over nuclear power in New Mexico is far from over, even though SB 78 will not move forward this year.