N.M. Admin. Code § 3.3.28.13

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 23, December 10, 2024

Section 3.3.28.13 - MINIMUM SYSTEM SIZES, SYSTEM APPLICATIONS AND LISTS OF ELIGIBLE COMPONENTS

A. Solar energy systems or their portions that the department may certify shall meet the following requirements:

(1) be made of new equipment, components and materials;

(2) if installed by a contractor, have a written minimum two year warranty provided by the contractor on parts, equipment and labor with the following exceptions;

(a) the warranty provided by the contractor on each specific piece of equipment shall not exceed the duration and conditions of the warranty provided by the manufacturer of the equipment against defects in materials and workmanship;

(b) in the case of an expansion of an existing system, the warranty provided by the contractor shall be limited to cover only parts, equipment and labor directly related to the upgrade or expansion; and

(c) the owner of the solar energy system shall bear the actual cost of shipping the product for the repair and replacement.

(3) be a complete energy system that collects, converts and distributes solar energy to the residence, business or agricultural enterprise it serves, unless requirements are met for expansion of an existing solar energy system or replacement of an existing solar energy system's components;

(4) if an expansion of an existing solar energy system, end use annual energy production of the new system shall be increased in comparison to the existing system by the amount of the minimum system size requirement and the contractor or homeowner shall provide a written summary of the condition of each major component of the system;

(5) if replacement of one or more components of an existing system, end use annual energy production of the new system shall be increased in comparison to the system's operation under existing conditions and the contractor or homeowner shall provide a written summary of the condition of each of the system's major components; and

(6) if a specialty or retrofit component is required for a complete solar energy system, then that component shall be included as part of the solar energy system that is eligible for department certification.

B. Solar energy systems or their portions that the department shall not certify are as follows:

(1) a system or portion of a system that uses non-solar or non-renewable sources in its operation, with the exception of the following:

(a) power necessary to provide for solar energy system components' incidental electricity needs; and

(b) non-solar or non-renewable sources that do not exceed 25 percent of the system's annual energy production;

(2) a system or portion of a system that would be present if the solar energy system was not installed;

(3) a system that increases an existing residence, business or agricultural enterprise's average annual energy consumption;

(4) a system that is mobile and does not serve a permanent end use energy load or is not permanently located in New Mexico;

(5) a system that is not connected to a structure or foundation and does not serve a permanent end use energy load or is not permanently located in New Mexico;

(6) a system or portion of a system having one or more components not manufactured on a regular basis by a business enterprise;

(7) a system installed on a recreational vehicle;

(8) a system not serving an end use energy load; or

(9) a system or portion of a system that replaces a system or portion of a system the department has certified in a previous application for a state tax credit.

C. The department may disapprove a system type, solar thermal collector type, photovoltaic module type or a solar energy system component if not listed in 3.3.28 NMAC for certification or may deem it innovative, if the applicant requests in the application package.

D. Solar thermal systems that the department may certify include:

(1) the system applications of solar domestic hot water, solar space heating, solar air heating, solar process heating, solar space cooling or combinations of solar thermal system applications listed in 3.3.28 NMAC;

(2) the collector types of flat plate, parabolic trough and evacuated tube; and

(3) the listed component categories of collectors, pumps, fans, solar storage tanks, expansion tanks, valves, controllers and heat exchangers.

E. A solar thermal system component that the department may certify is a photovoltaic system providing power for a solar thermal system component's incidental electricity needs. The department shall not certify such a photovoltaic system as a separate solar energy system eligible for a separate state tax credit.

F. Solar thermal systems or their components that the department shall not certify are as follows:

(1) a heating system or heating system components necessary for a swimming pool or a hot tub;

(2) equipment sheds, wall preparation, cabinetry, site-built enclosures, distribution piping and associated installation costs;

(3) a building design element used for passive solar space heating, space cooling, daylighting or other environmental comfort attribute;

(4) a water quality distillation or processing system;

(5) in a combined system, the portions of the system not allowed to receive a state tax credit or for which the department shall not certify the system;

(6) systems without adequate freeze protection;

(7) systems incorporating drain down as a freeze protection method; and

(8) systems without adequate overheating protection.

G. Solar thermal systems that the department may certify shall meet the following requirements:

(1) minimum system size of 15 square feet of solar collector aperture area;

(2) for solar domestic hot water systems installed at a residence or business, a minimum of 50 percent of the total domestic water heating load provided by solar energy;

(3) a collector that is:

(a) listed as certified by the SRCC by OG-100 collector certification or OG-300 system certification processes or, if collector is not certified by the SRCC and application package is submitted on January 1, 2007 or later but before January 1, 2010, submitted by the manufacturer to the SRCC for certification and is active in the SRCC certification process;

(b) if glazed, made of all-metal enclosures, absorber plates, fasteners and fittings; aperture glazing of tempered glass; and fiberglass or polyisocyanurate insulation; or

(c) if unglazed, made of durable materials having a minimum 12 year warranty period for full replacement; and

(4) all components approved by an agency accredited by the American national standards institute, if available for that specific component category.

H. Photovoltaic systems that the department may certify include:

(1) the system applications of direct power without battery storage, utility grid interconnected without battery storage, utility grid interconnected with battery storage, stand-alone with battery storage, stand-alone with utility backup capability and water pumping;

(2) the flat plate module types of crystalline, poly-crystalline or thin-film amorphous silicon;

(3) the listed component categories of modules, inverters, batteries, manufactured battery enclosures, charge controllers, power point trackers, well pumps, racks, sun tracking mechanisms, performance monitoring equipment, communications, datalogging or lightning protection; and

(4) disconnect components, safety components, standard electrical materials and standard electrical hardware necessary for the assembly of the listed component categories into a complete, safe and fully operational system.

I. Photovoltaic systems that the department may certify shall meet the following requirements:

(1) a minimum total array power output of 100 watts direct current at manufacturer's standard test conditions; and

(2) all components listed and labeled by a nationally recognized testing laboratory, if such listing is available for that specific component category.

J. Photovoltaic systems or their portions that the department shall not certify are as follows:

(1) a commercial or industrial photovoltaic system other than an agricultural photovoltaic system on a farm or ranch that is not connected to an electric utility transmission or distribution system;

(2) power equipment sheds, wall preparation, cabinetry, site-built battery enclosures, distribution wiring and associated installation costs;

(3) the drilling, well casing, storage tanks, distribution piping, distribution controls and associated installation costs of a water pumping system; and

(4) a packaged product powered by photovoltaic cells that a taxpayer purchased directly from a retail business enterprise, is not custom designed, and does not require a permit from the building code authority for installation, including watches, calculators, walkway lights and toys.

N.M. Admin. Code § 3.3.28.13

3.3.28.13 NMAC - N, 7-1-06; A, 1-31-08; A, 7-16-09