Solar power in Albuquerque, New Mexico

As an Albuquerque resident you most likely purchase your power from PNM.

What solar incentives do PNM offer in my city?

PNM is required by law to provide a program called net metering to all their solar customers. Net metering means that at times like during the middle of the day when your solar system is producing more power than needed to service your home the excess generation is sent to PNM via the grid and PNM must credit that power at their retail rate in the form of credit on your bill.

What will net metering make my bill look like?

Your electric bill on net metering entirely depends on how much power your home draws from the grid and how much power your solar system exports to the grid. For example if your home drew 800kWh of power from the grid at times your solar couldn't service your homes demand but your solar system exported 800kWh of excess generation you would not receive an electric bill. 

In the example above the only bill you would receive would be a minimum service charge which varies based on which rate you're on but is normally about $10-$20 per month.

What if my solar system exports more energy than I draw from the grid?

in any given month if you solar system has exported more energy than what was drawn from the grid each kWh is still valued at 1 for 1 with the retail electric rate and is carried over to the next month.

If any credit remains at the end of the yearly billing cycle PNM will value each kWh of credit at the avoided cost rate (about 3-4 cents) and deposit the balance into your account directly.

PNM's REC program

Unfortunately REC payments are currently set at $0.0025/kWh which would make the average solar owner in Albuqurque about $20 per year. Considering the contract term is only 8 years and the application fee is $150 this incentive is barely worth the paperwork.

How does the 30% federal solar tax credit affect me?

Any one with an income tax liability is eligible to claim 30% of the cost of a solar system as a deduction to federal taxes. There is also no dollar limit to this incentive.

What if my tax liability is less than 30% of my solar system cost?

If you owe less in tax than 30% of the cost of your system you may elect to receive the full tax credit in increments over several years.

Even if you are not convinced about solar we recommend that at the very least you use the solar panel calculator for Albuquerque to find out:

• How many solar panels you need to cover your power bill;
• How suitable your house is for solar;
• What incentives your house may be eligible for;
• The cost of solar panel installation in Albuquerque and whether you are eligible for zero down solar deals; and
• Your likely payback period and return on investment from installing solar