<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0GyQXu_1GxG4OKa00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0GyQXu_1GxG4OKa00" width="1600" height="1200" ><figcaption>Dr. Robert Balch, New Mexico Petroleum Recovery Research Center director and 4CED board member, gave an Energy Transition presentation at the 4CED breakfast on Tuesday. (David Edward Albright/Tri-City Record)</figcaption></figure>In New Mexico we use about 83,000 megawatt-hours a day for electricity, but it can be hard to pin down, where those numbers come from in renewable energies.This according to Dr. Robert Balch, who spoke to business leaders Tuesday at the 4CED Breakfast and Briefing at the Farmington Civic Center.Balch, a 4CED board member and geophysicist, also works as the director of the New Mexico Petroleum Recovery Research Center.He estimated that 51,000 megawatt-hours per day of potential energy is “sitting there with the normals that we’ve already deployed.”Balch pointed out deficiencies with wind and solar when it comes to producing enough energy and storage. There also is faltering engineering along with the economic realities of renewable energy sources.“There’s a goal of one gigawatt battery, 3.5 gigawatt hour by 2028, and two gigawatt, seven gigawatt-hours by 2024,” Balch said. However, as of November 2025 and what’s left of 2026 we are at 864 megawatts, which is less than needed.Back around 2000 when everything was coal or nuclear and some natural gas, Balch said, the peak load time was during the day and that’s when electricity was the most expensive.Now with a lot of solar, the peak times are early morning and at night when people are home watching TV and cooking dinner.“That’s when electricity is the most expensive in New Mexico because that’s when it’s least available, and that’s when you have to import electricity,” Balch said, adding wind is not reliable and solar is available for 0.33% of the day.Looking at inflation, electricity is about 41% higher than it was a decade ago, Balch said.“So, what has happened? We didn’t stop using electricity,” Balch said, noting it has resulted in a rapid expansion of natural gas peaker plants, with more than 50 around the state.Electricity becomes a lot more expensive as we’re trying to force this transition, he said, noting that when a renewable project goes in a peaker plant follows and, in essence, becomes the batteries. “That’s how we’re running power when renewables aren’t kicking it off,” Bach said.“So we need to have about an equal amount of battery for any renewable development for it to be effective or fully effective,” he said.About 10 times more battery storage is needed, with 15 to 30 million per megawatt hour for lithium, at $5 or $10 million dollars to cover what we have currently. Another $10 to $15 million is needed for the future, Bach said.In closing, he asserted that leaders should look really hard at the engineering and economic realities of renewables.</div></body>

Block Source: tricityrecordnm.com

Misinformation

Clickbait

Old or repetitive news

Explicit content

Location not relevant

In New Mexico we use about 83,000 megawatt-hours a day for electricity, but it can be hard to pin down, where those numbers come from in renewable energies. This according to Dr. Robert Balch, who spoke to business leaders Tuesday at the 4CED Breakfast and Briefing at the Farmington Civic Center.

Renewable energy not sufficient to meet needs

NewsBreak

In New Mexico we use about 83,000 megawatt-hours a day for electricity, but it can be hard to pin down, where those numbers come from in renewable energies

Renewable energy not sufficient to meet needs

Comments