Summary:

 House Bill 327 (HB 327) amends the Rural Electric Cooperative Act and the Renewable Energy Act to include natural gas using combined cycle technology in the definition of renewable energy resources.

 

Legislation Overview:

 House Bill 327 (HB 327) expands the definition of renewable energy resources as used in the Rural Electric Cooperative Act to include natural gas using combined cycle technology (Section 62-15-37 NMSA 1978). 
It makes the same change to the definition of renewable energy resources in Section 62-16-3 NMSA 1978 of the Renewable Energy Act.


 

Current Law:

 The combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) model involves the integration of a gas turbine cycle and a steam turbine cycle, which work together to extract energy from a fuel source, typically natural gas. By combining the gas turbine cycle and the steam turbine cycle, the CCGT system effectively manages to use the high-temperature exhaust gases from the gas turbine to generate steam and produce even more electricity which results in higher overall efficiency of combined cycle power plants. According to one source, the energy conversion efficiency of combined cycle power plants is around 55-60% (compared to 35-45% for conventional thermal power plants). This system produces fewer emissions but still does produce carbon dioxide. It requires an outside energy source and cooling system to be efficient. 
https://www.araner.com/blog/combined-cycle-gas-turbine-advantages-and-disadvantages