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Editor: Katerine G., Editor & Data Researcher · Research & publishing: Electric Consumer Editorial Team · Data retrieved · Sources named on this page: EIA-861, EIA retail sales, EIA-860/923, NREL PVWatts · How we got these numbers · Report an error

Solar in New Mexico: payback, sun by city and utility-scale capacity

1,784 kWha year from 1 kW of panels in New Mexico, rank 2 of 51 (1 = sunniest), PVWatts at the state's population centre

Across 5 New Mexico cities, yearly output runs from 1,773 kWh per kW in Farmington to 1,818 in Las Cruces. May is the best month at 177 kWh per kW and Dec the worst at 115. New Mexico pays back in 11.2 years at $3.00 a watt (rank 13 of 51), 2.3 years shorter than the middle state. 1,784 kWh per kW (rank 2) at 15.08 ¢ (rank 30 from the top): sunshine drives it. Utility-scale solar in New Mexico: 2,914 MW in 103 plants, 15.9% of 2025 generation; 2,076 MW more under construction or planned.

Sun inside New Mexico: 5 cities, 3% apart

Solar output in 5 cities of New Mexico
New Mexico citykWh per kW a yearAgainst state pointSun, kWh/m2 a dayPayback at $3.00Residents
Albuquerque1,779-0.3%6.4211.2562,488
Las Cruces1,818+1.9%6.6010.9112,612
Santa Fe1,777-0.4%6.3211.288,224
Roswell1,775-0.5%6.4111.247,823
Farmington1,773-0.6%6.3211.246,339

New Mexico state point 34.63, -106.36; city points Albuquerque 35.10, -106.65; Las Cruces 32.33, -106.79; Santa Fe 35.66, -105.98; Roswell 33.37, -104.53; Farmington 36.75, -108.18. Panel and method: solar method.

Output by month in New Mexico cities: 12 rows
New Mexico monthAlbuquerqueLas CrucesSanta FeRoswellFarmington
Jan121.3125.0122.0123.8110.6
Feb127.1137.5121.5129.9115.7
Mar159.7167.1160.2157.2160.2
Apr171.4176.2167.9171.7165.7
May180.1182.8179.7175.9184.7
Jun173.2168.5173.1164.7176.1
Jul162.3149.2159.2161.9168.6
Aug154.6157.1155.4159.8166.9
Sep151.0151.3154.4146.8155.8
Oct142.6151.8147.0143.8144.0
Nov123.8131.2123.2122.5117.9
Dec111.9119.8112.9117.4106.7

New Mexico: 5 cities, best month 185 and worst 107 kWh per kW across them.

CSV

Best and worst month in New Mexico: May 177, Dec 115 kWh per kW

New Mexico output and value by month
New Mexico monthkWh per kWPrice ¢Value per kWkWh per kW per sun unit
Jan129.013.66$17.620.82
Feb131.014.53$19.030.80
Mar155.714.78$23.010.78
Apr165.914.35$23.810.77
May177.414.50$25.720.75
Jun170.514.68$25.030.72
Jul149.215.80$23.570.72
Aug152.016.19$24.610.72
Sep152.916.52$25.260.74
Oct154.414.95$23.080.77
Nov131.015.61$20.450.80
Dec114.814.66$16.830.82

New Mexico: December to February give 21% of a year (rank 49 of 51, 1 = most winter); the best month is 1.5 times the worst. Output per unit of sun is highest in Dec (0.82) and lowest in Jul (0.72); PVWatts lowers cell output when the panel is hot, and the sun angle changes with the season. Our runs use one fixed 14% loss figure for every place, so snow or soiling in New Mexico is not modelled separately.

New Mexico: payback 11.2 years, rank 13 of 51

Solar measures for New Mexico
MeasureValueRank of 51Median state
Output of 1 kW a year, kWh1,78421,372
Home price, ¢ per kWh15.083015.37
Value of 1 kW a year$26913$222
Payback at $3.00 a watt11.2 years1313.5 years

EIA-861 (2024): 50,219 home net-metered systems in New Mexico, 53.6 per 1,000 accounts (rank 10), average 6.2 kW.

Sizes and prices per watt in New Mexico

Systems of 4 to 12 kW in New Mexico
New Mexico kWkWh a yearValue a yearCost at $2.50At $3.00At $3.50t CO2
47,135$1,076$10,000$12,000$14,0002.5
610,703$1,614$15,000$18,000$21,0003.7
814,270$2,152$20,000$24,000$28,0005.0
1017,838$2,690$25,000$30,000$35,0006.2
1221,406$3,228$30,000$36,000$42,0007.5
Payback in New Mexico by price and retail share
New Mexico $ per watt100% retail75%50%25%
$2.007.49.914.929.7
$2.509.312.418.637.2
$3.0011.214.922.344.6
$3.5013.017.326.052.0
$4.0014.919.829.759.5

New Mexico: 1,784 kWh/kW × 15.08 ¢ = 269 a year per kW; the 30% column (7.8 years at $3.00) is arithmetic only.

CSV

Utility-scale solar in New Mexico: 2,914 MW

New Mexico: 2,914 MW of operable utility-scale solar in 103 plants across 24 counties (EIA-860, 2025), rank 15 of 51; 1378 W per resident, rank 2. Solar made 15.9% of New Mexico's net generation in 2025 (EIA-923), rank 5, +9.1 points against the national share. Biggest plants: Arroyo Solar Energy Storage Hybrid in McKinley County, 300 MW (2024); Atrisco Solar LLC in Bernalillo County, 300 MW (2024); San Juan Solar I in San Juan County, 200 MW (2024). By county: McKinley 508 MW, Bernalillo 461 MW, Valencia 270 MW, Sandoval 262 MW. Proposed: 1,163 MW under construction (16 plants) and 913 MW planned (12 plants); batteries 1,034 MW running and 1,254 MW proposed.

Utility-scale solar added in New Mexico by year
New Mexico yearMW addedCumulative share of today's MW
20191104%
2020626%
202156%
2022678%
202332820%
2024119060%
202558881%

Net metering and CO2 in New Mexico

EIA-861 (2024): 50,219 home net-metered systems in New Mexico, 53.6 per 1,000 accounts (rank 10), average 6.2 kW.

6 kW in New Mexico: 10,703 kWh a year displaces 3.7 t CO2 at 0.349 kg per kWh, +0.7 t against the average state.

New Mexico utilities and solar payback

Solar payback by utility in New Mexico
New Mexico utilityHomesPrice ¢Value of 1 kWPayback at $3.00
Public Service Co of NM492,94515.57$27810.8 yr
City of Farmington35,99012.69$22613.3 yr
Jemez Mountains Elec Coop, Inc28,09315.36$27410.9 yr
Kit Carson Electric Coop, Inc26,09718.18$3249.3 yr
Continental Divide El Coop Inc20,41516.02$28610.5 yr
Central New Mexico El Coop, Inc19,12617.16$3069.8 yr
Otero County Electric Coop Inc16,44817.65$3159.5 yr
Farmers Electric Coop, Inc10,25812.87$22913.1 yr
Los Alamos County7,74214.15$25211.9 yr
Lea County Electric Coop, Inc7,21710.07$18016.7 yr
Central Valley Elec Coop, Inc6,1508.91$15918.9 yr
Roosevelt County Elec Coop Inc3,91812.07$21513.9 yr

New Mexico among its neighbours

Closest states to New Mexico
Closest to New MexicoPayback, yearskWh per kWPrice, ¢Utility-scale solar, points of generationMiles away
New Mexico (this page)11.21,78415.0815.9-
Arizona+0.0-34+0.24-2.6329
Colorado+1.2-250+0.77-6.0349
Utah+3.7-243-2.01+1.5503
Oklahoma+4.1-289-1.96-15.1537
Simple solar payback by state at $3.00 a wattNew Mexico: 11.2 yrTexas: 12.9 yrKentucky: 16.9 yrOhio: 14.2 yrGeorgia: 14.4 yrArkansas: 17.0 yrOregon: 17.3 yrPennsylvania: 12.5 yrMissouri: 16.0 yrNorth Carolina: 15.2 yrUtah: 14.9 yrVirginia: 14.6 yrWyoming: 14.5 yrWest Virginia: 16.2 yrNew York: 8.9 yrIndiana: 13.5 yrKansas: 13.9 yrIdaho: 18.5 yrNevada: 12.6 yrIllinois: 13.0 yrVermont: 10.7 yrNew Jersey: 10.0 yrMinnesota: 14.0 yrMaryland: 11.1 yrIowa: 15.9 yrHawaii: 4.3 yrNew Hampshire: 9.7 yrRhode Island: 7.9 yrConnecticut: 8.0 yrMontana: 17.6 yrArizona: 11.2 yrNebraska: 16.9 yrWashington: 21.6 yrSouth Dakota: 16.0 yrCalifornia: 5.5 yrAlabama: 13.5 yrWisconsin: 12.5 yrMississippi: 15.6 yrColorado: 12.3 yrOklahoma: 15.3 yrTennessee: 16.4 yrLouisiana: 16.1 yrMichigan: 11.7 yrMassachusetts: 7.7 yrFlorida: 12.7 yrAlaska: 11.3 yrNorth Dakota: 19.2 yrSouth Carolina: 13.7 yrMaine: 8.5 yrDelaware: 12.7 yrDistrict of Columbia: 9.8 yr

New Mexico against its neighbours in the payback ranking

  • -1 places, Vermont -0.5 years against New Mexico
  • +0 places, Maryland -0.1 years against New Mexico
  • New Mexico, rank 13: 11.2 years
  • +2 places, Arizona +0.0 years against New Mexico
  • +3 places, Alaska +0.2 years against New Mexico

Your numbers for New Mexico

    Limits in New Mexico

    New Mexico: with the old 30% credit (IRS, ended 2025) payback would be 7.8 years instead of 11.2, so the calculator starts at 0%. No New Mexico export rates in our data: output counts at 15.08 ¢. All limits.

    Sources for New Mexico

    More about New Mexico

    New Mexico electricity hub, New Mexico EV charging: 489 stations, where New Mexico ranks for rooftop solar, 11.2 years against 51 states, New Mexico calculators.

    Questions

    New Mexico sunshine for solar panels?

    1,784 kWh per kW a year at the state point, rank 2 of 51; from 1,773 in Farmington to 1,818 in Las Cruces.

    New Mexico utility-scale solar capacity?

    2,914 MW in 103 plants (EIA-860), 1378 W per resident, rank 2; 2,076 MW proposed.

    Winter cut in New Mexico solar output?

    December to February give 21% of the year; May makes 177 kWh per kW and Dec 115.

    Where in New Mexico is solar best?

    Yes: 3% between Farmington and Las Cruces in yearly output.

    New Mexico electricity from solar, what share?

    15.9% of 2025 net generation, rank 5 of 51, +9.1 points against the nation.

    Net metering in New Mexico?

    50,219 systems, 53.6 per 1,000 accounts, rank 10.

    Solar payback in New Mexico?

    11.2 years at $3.00 a watt; 9.3 at $2.50; 13.0 at $3.50; 1,784 kWh per kW at 15.08 ¢.

    New Mexico pays half price for exports?

    Payback 22.3 years at a 50% retail share.

    CO2 displaced in New Mexico?

    3.7 t a year on 6 kW at 0.349 kg per kWh.

    Federal solar credit in New Mexico: still available?

    Ended 2025 (IRS 25D); with it New Mexico payback would be 7.8 years, not 11.2.

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    1,784 kWh a year from 1 kW of panels in New Mexico, rank 2 of 51 (1 = sunniest), PVWatts at the state's population centre