WINNERS
Children of the sun
New Mexico's renewable-energy firms are salivating at the prospect of an Obama-era solar- and wind-farm windfall. Last week, Environment New Mexico reported that developers have already proposed 60 gigawatts worth of new "concentrating solar power" projects—like those developed at Sandia—in the southwestern US. That's more than double California's existing electric-generating capacity. With a $10 billion annual investment, traditional solar panels could produce 69 percent of the country's electricity by 2050, the report says. Wait a sec—don't we need that money for Wall Street? And the war?
LANL
In a just-released summary of its environmental safety performance last year, Los Alamos National Laboratory reports a slightly lower compliance rate resulting from the spread of toxic chromium, released from a power plant back in the '70s, through the region's aquifer. The reassuring news: Enviro auditors found "no major non-conformities"—which, translated to English, means no widespread spawning of two-headed, six-legged deer.
Sen. Hillary Clinton
Months after trouncing him in this year's Democratic presidential primaries, Clinton once again stole the thunder from former US Secretary of Energy and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. Although the president-elect is reportedly considering both politicians for secretary of state, the money's on Clinton: At press time, more than 80 percent of the gamblers at Intrade.com predict Clinton will get that top cabinet post, compared to 7 percent for Richardson.
LOSERS
Big oil
This week, Santa Fe hosted the annual conference of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, a gathering of government and business suits in oil-producing states. The corporate sponsors—including Chevron, BP and Halliburton—had two reasons to be disappointed. First, a federal Interior Department official announced that pending regulations will allow fossil fuel companies to begin scraping the bottom of the barrel by exploiting hard-to-extract oil shale deposits in the Rocky Mountains. However, actual production is reportedly a decade away. Second, outgoing IOGCC Chairwoman and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was not scheduled to "speak"…if you can call it that.
Santa Fe motorists
Local drivers are better off than they were a few months ago, when gas was running $4 per gallon. But what the hell is this Santa Fe premium about? As of Nov. 17, retail gasoline prices here averaged 10 to 20 cents higher per gallon than in Albuquerque, where you can fill up for $1.99 a gallon. According to AAA, New Mexico has the ninth-highest fuel prices out of all 50 states. (Alaska was most expensive at $3.15 per gallon; Missouri was cheapest at $1.79.) Ride your bike before it snows.
Jerome Block Jr.
The agonies of victory continue for Block, the newest and most dubious elected member of the Public Regulation Commission. On Nov. 13, a day ahead of deadline, Block delivered checks totaling $21,700 to the New Mexico Secretary of State's Office in order to settle his campaign-related fines and return misspent public funds. The end? Not yet. Deputy Secretary of State Don Francisco Trujillo II says Block must still answer some questions about his campaign expenditures.