I attended the session regarding alternative and renewable energy at the Governor's Energy and Environment Transition meeting this morning. It was a good session and the Team listened to a nice mix of comments on the need to push into new frontiers when it comes to new forms of energy. It was all there, clean coal, nuclear, wind, biomass and geothermal. No one got up to represent the oil and gas industry.
Tax incentives seem to be seen as a major tool by many in affecting positive progress for renewable energy development. Oil companies have been getting lots of those in the last few years by ultimately not being charged windfall profits tax. So they better not complain. Yes, they still pay for a lot of stuff in our state through their taxes. They also pay a lot for taking state owned oil and gas, which is not a tax. The fact of the matter is that someone has to be thinking hard about how New Mexico will fund its government once the oil and gas guys are relegated to the dust bin of history. Those taxes and royalties will have to be replaced somehow if state government is to continue to function. In just a few years as production slips we might see some of its effects, although volatile and higher oil and gas prices might put that off for a while.
We need to think hard on this issue for the sake of our educational system in this state. Kids who are entering kindergarten next year will be facing this crunch by the time they are seniors in high school. Not much time.
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