u/Emotional_Eye_3700

From the article: "In just five years, solar, wind, and batteries overtook fossil fuels, keeping air conditioners running while slashing pollution.

In many places, high electricity demand equals high pollution. That used to be true in New Mexico, but the state’s electricity supply flipped from majority climate-warming fossil fuels to majority renewables in just five years. Spurred by an ambitious clean energy law called the Energy Transition Act, utilities have been busy building solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, and transmission lines. A major coal plant was retired and demolished. Solar panels proliferated on homes, schools, and businesses.

And even while New Mexico was building out its clean energy future, electricity prices remained cheaper than average."

Here is a link for the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA)

https://www.aging.nm.gov/radiation-exposure-compensation-act-reca/

Eminent domain is the compulsory acquisition of private property for public use.  Here is the NM law on that. https://www.lawserver.com/law/state/new-mexico/nm-statutes/new_mexico_statutes_72-1-5

The center of Rio Rancho is blanketed with retanglular lots held by investors that hold out for top dollar (I would do that too). They were laid out that way in the original AMREP land scam. But these hold outs make it difficult to build things like new grocery stores, etc. Even AMREP was unable to get all the lots purchased in a proposed development area, resulting in the RR Governing Body turning down the proposal. https://nm.news/2026/04/10/rio-rancho-governing-body-rejects-orchard-park-master-plan-over-holdout-lots-park-concerns/

These investor hold-outs are what causes several recent developments to be shoe-horned into really odd spots. Look at how the Sandoval Flats apartment development is squeezed in on county land by the Sandoval County office at 528 & Idalia. Or the Arrowhead East development near NM 528 and Sundt Road, squeezed in along the south bank of Arroyo de los Montoyas. Or the way a new development is being squeezed into the old RR golf course. One would think there is no other land for development in Rio Rancho. And that is true, because of the property investors.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled (Kelo v. City of New London, 545 U.S. 469 (2005)) that the use of eminent domain to transfer land from one private owner to another private owner to further economic development does not violate the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment.

Why can't Rio Rancho use its eminent domain powers to open up some of those locked up investor lots for development beneficial to its residents? So we could get a grocery store in northwest Rio Rancho. And developers can stop putting their developments into odd and inappropriate locations.