press releases

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich wants electric utilities to invest in storage technology. The New Mexico Democrat and Maine Sen. Angus King have introduced legislation to establish a national energy storage portfolio standard. The bill would set targets for energy storage to meet growing demand and encourage the integration of renewable energy, including...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A bill introduced by U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) to create a national Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) received an important hearing today in the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.  The bill, S. 1264, would create jobs, save consumers money, and reduce pollution. In...

WASHINGTON, D.C. -  Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich introduced a bill to create jobs, save consumers money and reduce pollution by creating a national Renewable Electricity Standard (RES). The legislation, which would help the United States diversify its energy sources while establishing our leadership in clean energy...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) released the following statement on the $73 million settlement reached between the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the State of New Mexico related to the February 2014 violations at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad and the associated activities at the Los Alamos National...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich issued the following statements on the proposal for New Mexico to become an interim storage site for high-level nuclear waste: "I don't think we should be talking about this at all while the state and the Department of Energy are still addressing the serious accident and radiation...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - During a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) called for building a robust 21st century energy infrastructure, which is critical to realizing our nation's true clean energy potential and creating jobs in New Mexico. The committee heard testimony from Secretary of...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, introduced a bill today, S. 1017, to amend the 80-year old Federal Power Act to provide the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) narrow authority to approve and site new priority electric transmission lines in cases...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich and U.S. Reps. Steve Pearce and Ben Ray Luján issued the following joint statement on the report by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Accident Investigation Board, analyzing the direct cause of the of the Feb. 14, 2014, radiological incident at the Waste Isolation...

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 16, 2015) - During a U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces hearing, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) advocated for legislation he sponsored to encourage technology transfer and highlighted the national laboratories role in...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich welcomed Norman C. Bay, a former University of New Mexico law professor and U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico, as the new chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). In July 2014, the Senate confirmed Bay with bipartisan support as a commissioner of...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, delivered the keynote address at the Southwest Clean Energy Transmission Summit. The event was hosted by the Energy Future Coalition and its "Americans for a Clean Energy Grid" electric transmission initiative. Senator...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) will be in Albuquerque on Wednesday, April 1 and Thursday, April 2. On Wednesday afternoon, Senator Heinrich will deliver the keynote address at the Southwest Clean Energy Transmission Summit. The event is hosted by the Energy Future Coalition and its "Americans for a Clean Energy Grid"...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich and U.S. Reps. Steve Pearce and Ben Ray Luján issued the following joint statement on the report by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Technical Assessment Team, analyzing the scientific cause of the drum failure that led to the Feb. 14, 2014, radiological incident...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) announced that Santo Domingo Pueblo was selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to receive a $210,000 grant to accelerate the Tribe's implementation of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. This federal investment will help install a ground-mounted,...

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 18, 2015) - U. S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), members of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, introduced S. 784, the Microlab Technology Commercialization Act, a bill to accelerate technology transfer by establishing off-campus microlabs that would serve as the "front-door"...

During the darkest days of the Great Recession, one of the lone bright spots was America’s energy industry. Increased oil and natural gas production powered the manufacturing renaissance that pulled our economy back from the brink. If a recovery is going to continue, we’ll need the energy sector to keep providing the power. Today,...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - During a Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) confirmed with U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz that the recovery effort at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is on track to return the facility to normal operation by the current target date of 2018. WIPP,...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) was appointed ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee's Subcommittee on National Parks. Heinrich will also serve on the Energy and Public Lands, Forests, and Mining Subcommittees. "America's public lands are part of the fabric of our democracy. In New...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) joined a bipartisan group of senators this week in renewing their efforts to expand restitution for victims of radiation exposure related to U.S. nuclear arms testing in the 1950s and 1960s.  As a part of that effort, the group of senators introduced S. 331, the Radiation Exposure...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) released the following statement today on President Obama's Fiscal Year 2016 budget proposal: "Recognizing that our nation's deficit has been cut by two-thirds since 2009, the president's budget proposal acknowledges that it's time to propel our economic recovery forward by investing in our...