The Department of Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources is accepting applications for the state’s additional New Solar Market Development Tax Credit program. This program is intended for New Mexico taxpayers who were denied a solar tax credit during the years 2020 through 2023 because the program’s funding was exhausted before they applied.
“On behalf of New Mexico taxpayers who missed out on this tax credit through no fault of their own, we thank the Legislature and Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham for creating this additional fund,” said Rebecca “Puck” Stair, director of EMNRD’s Energy Conservation and Management Division (ECAM), which administers the tax credit program. “We stand ready to process these requests and support the deployment of more solar energy in the Land of Enchantment.”
The New Solar Market Development Tax Credit program, first introduced in 2020, provides a tax credit of up to 10% on solar energy system installation costs for qualified solar thermal and photovoltaic systems, up to a maximum of $6,000 per taxpayer per year.
From 2020 through 2023, EMNRD was forced to deny hundreds of applications for solar tax credits as annual funding limits imposed by the legislature were quickly reached. During the 2024 legislative session, lawmakers appropriated $20 million to fund credits for taxpayers who missed the previous three years. The Legislature also increased the program’s annual cap to $30 million.
EMNRD is also processing applications for ratepayers who installed solar energy systems in 2024. Taxpayers can submit applications for both the additional tax credit and the tax credit for 2024 here.
Since the program’s inception, more than 13,000 New Mexicans have received solar tax credits averaging $3,078. EMNRD estimates that these New Mexicans have each saved an average of $1,624 per year in energy costs while adding more than 100 MW of distributed solar energy to the state’s electric grid.
News release from New Mexico Department of Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources
