SolarRisk Tracker / Explore / NM / Bernalillo

Bernalillo County, NM — Solar Development Risk Assessment

Local solar ordinance barriers, board sentiment, and utility policies that affect development timelines and risk.

47.8
Risk Grade
Fair
Albuquerque metro county; dense urban/suburban land use severely limits utility-scale solar; PNM territory with reliable interconnection but constrained substations serving dense load; East Mesa offers some flat undeveloped land but development pressure is intense; C-grade reflects moderate compliance burden from urban CUP process, moderate saturation of viable flat sites, and a stable but land-constrained trajectory — politically neutral but physically limited
Assessment Snapshot
Population
679121
State Rank
#19
Compliance
55%
Trajectory
45

Moratorium Status

✓ No Active Moratorium
No specific moratorium information available.

Ordinance & Regulations

Setback Requirements
150 ft from property lines; 300 ft from occupied structures; per Bernalillo County Unified Development Ordinance
Zoning Mechanism
Conditional Use Permit (CUP) — Bernalillo County Commission / Development Review Board
Acreage Caps
None established
Spacing Rules
None established
Size Restrictions
None established

Board Sentiment & Political Risk

Sentiment Analysis
Neutral — Albuquerque metro county with progressive county commission; renewable energy supported in principle but urban density and competing land uses constrain utility-scale solar far more than politics; no significant opposition movement; land availability is the binding constraint
Basis for Assessment
Bernalillo County Commission; Albuquerque Journal; PNM interconnection queue; NM PRC filings; Bernalillo County UDO
Political Risk Factors
Stable
Board Members
Bernalillo County Commission (5 members) — bernco.gov/commission

Grid, Utilities & State Context

Grid Operator
WECC / PNM (Public Service Company of New Mexico)
Utilities
PNM (Public Service Company of New Mexico)
State Permitting Process
County zoning authority; no state solar preemption; conditional use or special use permit (CUP/SUP) required for utility-scale solar (>1 MW); NM model solar ordinance framework available but adoption varies by county; decommissioning bond typically required; NM Solar Rights Act (1978, amended) protects residential solar access but does not preempt local large-project zoning
State Incentives
Federal ITC eligible; NM Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit (REPTC); NM Energy Transition Act (2019) zero-carbon mandate driving procurement; PNM and Xcel NM renewable procurement programs; NM Solar Market Development Tax Credit (residential); USDA REAP eligible for rural counties

Development Activity

Active/Completed Projects
Atrisco Solar (~5 MW, 2022, approved); Mesa del Sol distributed generation (multiple, 2020-2024)
Denied/Withdrawn Projects
None known

Explore the Full Tracker

View risk assessments for all 3,100+ US counties, compare states, and download detailed ordinance data for your solar development pipeline.

Launch SolarRisk Tracker

Last verified: 2026-04-02 | SolarRisk Tracker | Data sources: Government records, utility filings, public meeting minutes