Energy

New Mexico, with its abundant wind and solar resources, can and should be America’s epicenter of the clean energy economy. As a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, I will continue to work every day to ensure this becomes a reality.

As an engineer, I know that in order to reverse the devastating effects of climate change, our country must continue to invest in clean energy production, energy efficiency, and reduce carbon pollution. I support implementing energy efficiency initiatives to help our country do more with the power we have. New Mexico is well positioned to lead this effort.

Transitioning to clean energy sources and making America energy independent will not only create jobs, but help reduce our dependence on foreign oil and strengthen our national security.  

Latest

  • Heinrich Highlights Economic Benefits Of Clean Energy At New Wind Farm in Torrance County

    ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, highlighted how the extension of the clean energy production and investment tax credits have been critical to supporting new wind projects in New Mexico. Last year, Senator Heinrich led a bipartisan group of lawmakers to pass an energy agreement that lifted the ban on oil exports and included a five-year retroactive extension of the Production Tax Credit (PTC) through  2019, which supports wind energy, and a five-year extension of the Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC). Read More

  • Heinrich: Clean energy helps economy, climate

    In the coming years, New Mexico has the potential to become a major producer and exporter of wind and solar energy. The Department of Energy estimates New Mexico is capable of producing over 400,000 megawatts of wind energy by 2030. Read More

  • Heinrich Introduces Bipartisan Bill To Create Tax Credit For Energy Storage

    Today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, introduced S. 3159, the Energy Storage Tax Incentive and Deployment Act, a bipartisan bill cosponsored by U.S. Senators Dean Heller (R-Nev.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Angus King (I-Maine), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), and Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), to establish investment tax credits (ITC) for business and home use of energy storage.  The proposed tax incentives are modeled on the current ITCs for solar energy and apply to either large, grid-connected energy storage systems or to smaller battery systems for residential power.  Home battery storage, coupled with a small wind or roof-top solar system, could be used to store energy during the day for use later in the day or during overcast skies and to help consumers reduce their energy bills. Read More

  • Heinrich Backs Legislation To Protect U.S. Electric Grid From Cyberattacks

    U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) joined U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), and Susan Collins (R-Maine), all members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, to introduce The Securing Energy Infrastructure Act of 2016, a bill to protect critical U.S. energy infrastructure from potentially catastrophic cyberattacks. The legislation would examine solutions to defend the U.S. energy grid by replacing key devices like computer-connected operating systems that are vulnerable to cyberattacks with analog and human-operated systems -- a "retro" approach that has shown promise as a safeguard against cyberattacks. Read More