By Mike Bush
Editor
575magazine.com
Lincoln County has “significant immediate potential” for development of renewable energy sources, according to the executive summary of the report, “The New Clean Energy Economy in Lincoln County,” prepared by retired college dean Jim Miller.
Miller presented the report to the Lincoln County Commission Nov. 17. After the presentation, the commission asked that economic development, including clean energy, be placed on the agenda of its December meeting as a workshop.
The executive summary says the county has resources to develop wind, solar, biomass and wastewater sludge and other solid wastes immediately. With additional investigation, other renewable sources, including geothermal, biofuel and coal bed methane may be available.
The summary included almost three pages of recommendations whose implementation would strech from immediate implementation to five to six years out.
Since the county has a population density of 4.0 people per square mile, and even less in western and northern parts of the county, available land is one of the county’s greatest resources for clean energy production, the report adds.
The report breaks down specific “challenges and opportunities” related to different sources of renewable energy.
Solar: “New Mexico, particularly central and southern New Mexico, has the second best solar potential in the nation (Home Power Magazine, November, 2009) with an average of 6.8 to7.2 solar hours per day per year, a mostly untapped resource. The 4,800 square mile area of Lincoln County is a wide-open opportunity for utility-scale or residential-scale photovoltaic solar development,” the report says.
Development of solar energy in the county would expand opportunities for residents trained in solar technology and for the four solar-related businesses in the county.
Wind: Commercially viable wind resources are available in northern Lincoln County, the report says. Landowners in the Corona area have established the Corona Landowners Association and are actively negotiating with corporate wind developers.
Geothermal: The 2003 New Mexico Geothermal Resource map suggests the potential for geothermal development for electric power generation in the area west and northwest of Carrizozo, the report says, adding that further study of the area west, southwest and northwest of Carrizozo and its development possibilities should be undertaken with New Mexico Tech and Sandia National Laboratories.
Biomass: Private businesses, public and quasi-public entities collect and process about 60,000 cubic yards of forest by-product in southeastern Lincoln County, the report says, adding additional biomass material could be generated if the village of Ruidoso’s defensible space ordinance were adopted by the county, if additional large-scale thinning was carried out in forest on private and public land in the county’s 164,00 acres of forest in southeastern Lincoln County or if pinion and juniper were reduced in a program to restore public and private grazing lands.
This would provide material for electrical co-generation in the near term and in the mid-term for cellulosic biofuel production.
Other biofuels: Lincoln County is a perfect location to farm organisms that need sunlight and brackish water, eat carbon dioxide and perspire products that could be used for fuel. Studies have identified brackish water in the Tularosa Basin as most suitable for development
Municipal solid waste and wastewater sludge: Cities in other parts of the country process large municipal waste and wastewater sludge and incinerate them to generate electric power. The report urges the county, particularly the cities of Ruidoso and Ruidoso Downs, to form a working group to study the feasibility of a waste-to-energy project combining municipal waste, septic-tank waste and forest by-products to generate electricity.
Incinerators reduce the mass of waste product by 80-85 percent and the volume, already reduced somewhat by compactors, by 95-96 percent, significantly reducing the volume of solid waste that goes into landfills.
Coal-bed methane gas: Lincoln County has significant coal deposits in the south and west parts of the county. Although some of the coal has been mined, the report suggests it has not been examined for the existence of coal bed methane gas.
Development of coal bed methane “would need to address potential surface and subsurface environmental considerations including impact on water resources,” the report says.
The report cited goals of another report, “New Mexico’s Green Economy: Capitalizing on Assets and Opportunity,” prepared by the New Mexico Economic Development Department, as providing an appropriate strategic plan for Lincoln County. The goals are:
- Be a leader in renewable energy export.
- Be a center of the New Mexico solar industry by making Lincoln County the “solar valley” of the United States.
- Lead the nation in green grid innovation.
- Be a center of excellence for green building and energy efficiency.
- Have a highly skilled and ready-to-work workforce.
See the entire report: The New Clean Economy in Lincoln County, NM