Our mission
Not all renewable energy projects are the same. Our mission is to educate our communities about large-scale renewable energy projects so together we can make informed decisions that protect our environment and keep our neighborhoods safe.
Energy storage is a critical part of realizing our renewable energy future. However, “where” and “how” matter. While lithium-ion battery technology is relatively inexpensive, the risks of fires and explosions, environmental contamination, and threats to wildlife are too great. An unmanned, utility-scale lithium-ion battery facility, with questionable failure rates for automated detection and mitigation, make the proposed AES Rancho Viejo Project too dangerous for our communities. Facilities like this simply do not belong within a mile or less of residential communities in Santa Fe County, especially if they are more than 20 minutes from the nearest emergency response.
Even if the proposed site was close to emergency fire facilities, not surrounded by dry brush, the nature of thermal runaway lithium-ion battery fires makes them very difficult to extinguish. And even if a fire response were able to arrive quickly, addressing fires of this type frequently results in dangerous “forever” chemicals being released into our air and water supply.
The CEC believes in the power of the local community, and seeks to develop renewable energy alternatives, including community-based solar and sustainable storage solutions. Please join us in our fight to protect Santa Fe County from out-of-state energy companies that put shareholder profits over the safety of our communities and our environment.
History / Timeline
The CEC was formed as an informal group called Keep Eldorado Safe in June 2023. The group grew quickly, and by the end of the summer over 100 volunteers had distributed flyers to more than 3,000 homes in Eldorado and surrounding areas. Later that year the Keep Eldorado Safe steering committee filed with the New Mexico Secretary of State and the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, with a name that more clearly reflected the larger mission: Clean Energy Coalition for Santa Fe County.
Having found experts in our community, we analyzed all the information AES had shared with residents about the project which brought us to the conclusion that the real financial value for their company was not from the solar panels or the energy they produced but from the massive lithium-ion array of batteries they claimed to need, which were far in excess of what was required to store the energy from the solar panels. AES’s real aim for this project was to pull power off the PNM grid when demand and rates were low and then sell it back at a higher price to us or other utilities that might choose to buy it at that moment.
As concerned citizens, we meet with County staff in July to explain this to them and ask if they were aware of what we’d discovered. It was clear this was news to them and, in fact, seemed to take them by surprise. We presume they then contacted AES to confirm our assertion because within a week or two of that meeting, the following happened: AES sent us an email saying they would no longer communicate with residents about the project, the AES representatives we’d been communicating with abruptly left AES, and then AES filed suit against the County claiming that the hazardous information about the lithium-ion batteries were now “trade secrets” that were not to be shared with the community.
October 6, 2023: The neighborhood group, Keep Eldorado Safe officially became the Clean Energy Coalition for Santa Fe County, a 501c(3) public charity and was now able to accept donations and hire an attorney.
January 2024: CEC made a motion to intervene in the “trade secrets” suit, which Judge Maria Sanchez-Gagne ultimately granted so we could try to force AES to be transparent and release the so-called Hazard Mitigation Analysis Report (HMA). Not wanting to answer the questions in our motion of discovery and thus create a public record, AES dropped their suit entirely and released the information in the HMA.
August 2024: After withdrawing their initial application, AES submits a new (revised) application with the County which includes a REDACTED Hazard Mitigation Analysis (HMA) report. They once again sue the County to prevent them from sharing the redacted information about the hazards of the batteries with the public, again claiming that they were Trade Secrets. After a one-day hearing/trial on the issue in District Court, Judge Matthew Francis found against AES which then again forced them to share the results of the controlled tests that were done on the NCA type batteries they intended to use on the project. The UNREDACTED report, which was never added to the AES application materials on the County’s website, shows the batteries AES planned to use failed 3 of 4 systems tests.
December 4, 2024: A public County hearing was held with the Sustainable Land Development Code (SLDC) Hearing Officer to determine if a conditional use permit (CUP) should be granted to the applicant (Rancho Viejo Limited Partnership, Rancho Viejo Solar LLC, and AES Clean Energy Development LLC) for the location zoned Rural Fringe. This would be the first of three quasi-judicial hearings with Santa Fe County on this matter.
December 23, 2024: SLDC Hearing Officer, Marilyn Hebert advised the County to deny AES’ application, stating: “The evidence indicates the Project would be detrimental to health, safety and general welfare of the area; the Project would create a potential hazard for fire, panic, or other danger; and the Project is inconsistent with the purposes of the property’s zoning classification and inconsistent with the spirit and intent of the SLDC and SGMP.”
https://www.santafecountynm.gov/uploads/documents/Case_24-5200_AES_Hearing_Officer_Recommended_Order.pdf
February 3 and 4, 2025: The second public county hearing was held over two days with the County Planning Commission voting 6 to 1 in favor of the project. The opposed parties with standing were given a total of 2 hours 47 minutes to present with no meaningful cross-examination allowed, while the parties in support of the project accumulated a total of 6 hours 27 minutes. Final order was provided March 24, 2025.
https://www.santafecountynm.gov/uploads/documents/Rancho_Viejo_Solar%2C_LLC_Recorded_Final_Order.pdf
May 2, 2025: CEC, along with other parties of standing, appealed the County Planning Commission’s decision with a Letter of Intent, setting in motion a third hearing with the County’s Board of County Commissioners.
http://www.santafecountynm.gov/images/Letter_of_Intent.pdf
August 11 and 12, 2025: A FINAL COUNTY HEARING took place for the full Board of County Commissioners to consider the Rancho Viejo Solar (& Battery) Project. Multiple parties with standing presented for and against the project including CEC. Public comments in person were given on August 12, with 112 opposed and 40 in support; total comments in person and emails were 418 opposed, 280 in support. The County extended the hearing for a third day on August 13 to hear more from AES and the County staff, holding their decision for a later date.
August 26, 2025: Despite the clear objections on the part of the public and the Hearing Officers recommendations, the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) votes 4 to 1 in favor of approving the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for the Rancho Viejo Solar Project (RVSP). Commissioner Lisa Cacari Stone was the single dissenting vote. Her findings are provided at the bottom of the County’s Final Order with Conditions. The CEC Team meets to discuss appealing to District Court. The County’s final order:
https://www.santafecountynm.gov/uploads/documents/Case_No._24-5200_Order_.pdf
September 9, 2025: A new application from a Spanish-based company, Linea Energy LLC, for a 2-phased solar and battery storage project called Globemallow 1 and 2, that had been in the works was now officially submitted to the county. The project site is located in the southern part of Santa Fe County, 2.4 miles north of Stanley and about 30 miles south of Eldorado and the city of Santa Fe. CEC begins reviewing Linea’s application.
https://www.santafecountynm.gov/growth-management/building-development/large-scale-renewable-energy-projects-2024/linea-energy-llc-globemallow-energy-llc-project-1-case-25-5180
November 11, 2025: Santa Fe County’s Board of County Commissioners (BCC) unanimously passes Resolution No. 2025-124 which calls for a study to consider the possibility of the County developing a public electric energy system.
https://www.santafecountynm.gov/documents/ordinances/Resolution_2025-124.pdf
November 20, 2025: CEC files a Notice of Appeal in District Court to contest the County’s approval of the RVSP permit for a CUP, beginning the formal legal process to stop AES from going forward.
An involved back and forth begins before a court date will be set. CEC requests Discovery from AES, Santa Fe County, and the landowner Warren Thompson, because many questions went unanswered and cross-examinations were not allowed. — All three parties respond by requesting Protective Orders (not so unlike their earlier Trade Secrets claims). — The County also requests a separate Hearing to dismiss our due process claims, (no court date yet). — And this still leaves the Appeal of the BCC decision. The County must submit the full record to District Court by January 23, at which time CEC will review the estimated 12,000 pages.
January 5, 2026: In response to the Board of County Commissioners’ November 11, 2025 Resolution No. 2025-124, Randy Coleman, CEC Vice President and electrical engineer, provides a strategy for a Santa Fe County Smart Electric Grid. His two white papers and summaries are easy to understand and provide a step-by-step approach for the County: “Energy Ethics in New Mexico: The New Mexico Energy Paradox” explains the history of the Oil and Gas Industry in NM and why it makes sense for NM to transition to renewable energy, and “A Smarter Way: A Resilient, Proven, and Inevitable Energy Future for Santa Fe County” is an expansion of his original 2023 concept.
https://cleanenergycoalitionsfc.org/a-smarter-path/
January 20, 2026: CEC provides a preliminary comparison between the AES Rancho Viejo project and the newer Linea Energy Globemallow project. This review includes battery technology, local population density, water, noise, wildlife, economics, with pros and cons discussed.
https://cleanenergycoalitionsfc.org/aes-vs-linea/
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Our Team
The CEC Steering Committee — Standing left to right: Victoria Salem Clark, Randy Coleman, Lee Zlotoff, Cindy Fuqua, and Robert Foody. Seated left to right: Stace Williams, Dayna Matlin, and Catherine Babbitt.
Lee Zlotoff
President
Dayna Matlin
Community Liaison
info@cleanenergycoalitionsfc.org
Catherine Babbitt
Legal Review
Cindy Fuqua
Environment
Randy Coleman
Vice President, Engineering
Victoria Salem Clark
Community Outreach
Pat Czeto
Kim Day
Tom & Nina Rebstock
Jim & Nancy Wheeler