N.M. proposes plan for San Juan Generating Station

Months of wrangling over the best way to curb pollution from a coal-fired power plant that serves more than 2 million customers in the Southwest have given way to a proposal that could see New Mexico make the transition to cleaner sources of energy to meet its electricity demands.

Republican Gov. Susana Martinez’s administration on Tuesday unveiled details of a proposed settlement involving pollution controls at the San Juan Generating Station in northwestern New Mexico. It calls for retiring two units at the plant by December 2017 and installing less costly equipment for cutting pollution on the plant’s remaining units.

At issue is an order from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that calls for Public Service Co. of New Mexico to equip the plant with certain technology to cut pollutants that cause regional haze and visibility issues in national parks and wilderness areas. The rule, issued in August 2011, gave PNM and the plant’s other owners five years to come into compliance.