A bill that makes buying solar panels more affordable is now state law, but the sales job isn't over — the Santa Fe lawmaker who authored it now has to help make it work, county by county.
State Rep. Brian Egolf's bill will allow property owners to pay for rooftop photovoltaic panels and installation by taking on increases in their annual property taxes. Implementing the program will be up to the county treasurers and others who handle property taxes on the local level.
New Mexico's larger counties — Bernalillo, Santa Fe, Sandoval and Doña Ana — are likely to be early participants, said Paul Gutierrez, executive director of the New Mexico Association of Counties, which supported the bill in the recent legislative session. In the rural areas, he said, "I think it's going to be a tough sell, where they may not have the personnel and the wherewithal to do it."
To get around that, Gutierrez said he has been working with Egolf on creating a "template" so counties can be ready when the law takes effect July 1. Egolf has also talked with Santa Fe County commissioners.
"I think what we need to demonstrate to them and to the county treasurer is that this is something that will be easy to do in terms of running the program," Egolf said. "And it can be done just like it's been done elsewhere — with great simplicity."
Egolf's bill was modeled after a program used throughout California. It also was one of several solar-related bills that became law, but the solar industry gave it the most focus partly because it could get up and running faster.
"It's definitely not over, but I think the pieces are in place, so it ought to go pretty smoothly as long as we do our job and educate the county folks," said Patrick Griebel, owner of 310 Solar in Albuquerque and a board member of the Renewable Energy Industry Association.
Before HB 572, Griebel said, most of his customers would pay the roughly $24,000 for a 3-kilowatt system up front by getting a second mortgage or cashing in their stocks. Under the new law, customers would pay as little as $1,400 a year plus interest over 20 years through their property taxes, Griebel said.
"We have a financial structure for solar that is unlike anything else, whether it's a car or a dishwasher or a house or adding onto a house," he said. "Very few people ever really come out of pocket for that stuff and write a check."
The solar system's cost would be defrayed by renewable-energy credits, electricity customers return to the energy grid, and state and federal tax credits. "You're getting close to being a zero-sum, net-flow kind of thing," Griebel said.
"It might be a little bit more paperwork, but I think it's going to promote alternative energy," said Oscar Vasquez Butler, Doña Ana County Commission vice chairman. "My take is, anything to promote alternative-energy is great."
Grant County Commissioner Mary Ann Sedillo, vice president of the Association of Counties, backed the bill partly because the program is voluntary. "I think smaller counties might be a little more leery, thinking it's something they might have to do," she said. "I have a lot of green people who want to go green. ... I would definitely be open to it, but first of all I would need to inform my county."
Griebel said his solar company and others are anticipating an influx of business because of Egolf's bill and others. "The question everybody has is how much," he said.
In addition to HB572, Gov. Bill Richardson last week signed SB647 by Sen. Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, which would use a special property-tax assessment to help residents install renewable-energy technology; and SB318, a green-jobs training bill by Sen. Eric Griego, D-Albuquerque.
Contact Doug Mattson at 986-3087 or dmattson@sfnewmexican.com.
