Senator Heinrich's 100% Clean Energy Vision

Democratic Senator Martin Heinrich is the son of a utility lineman, and one of just a few engineers in Congress. 

Clean energy piqued the New Mexico lawmaker’s interest at an early age, while he was building and racing solar-powered cars in college. But for most of his life, he says, it was hard to imagine a world in which renewables could power more than 20 or 30 percent of the electric grid. 

Today, Heinrich’s outlook is different. “We can have a future reliable, cheap, resilient grid that is 100 percent powered by clean energy,” he said in an interview on Greentech Media’s Political Climate podcast.

Transforming the grid comes with technical challenges, Heinrich added. “But given how much things have changed over the last 30 years, I have no doubt 30 years from now we will be looking at those challenges in a very different way.” 

As for how long it will take to achieve 100 percent clean energy: “I think in my lifetime that is completely doable,” he said. Listen to the full conversation below, or via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, TuneIn, Overcast, Stitcher or Spotify! And remember to subscribe!

Brandon Hurlbut, Political Climate co-host and former chief of staff at the Department of Energy under President Obama, said that Heinrich’s comments on 100 percent clean energy are significant.

“Senator Heinrich's announcement that he supports 100 percent clean energy is a big deal, because it shows that the 100 percent movement is becoming mainstream,” said Hurlbut. As a senator from a purple state, “It shows that support is expanding beyond liberal policymakers on the East and West Coasts.” 

Yesterday marked the official launch of Sen. Heinrich’s “Clean Energy Vision,” as part of his re-election campaign for this fall. The ad and supporting document outline a multi-pronged approach for strengthening New Mexico's clean energy economy — including investments in energy storage, wind and solar, transmission lines and workforce development. The plan doesn’t explicitly call for a 100 percent clean energy grid, but Heinrich said it's a valuable concept for people to rally around.

Senator Heinrich laid out his Clean Energy Vision on Political Climate, and outlined how he intends to make that vision a reality in these highly partisan times.