An array of green projects
City Council to consider $15.5 million investment in solar arrays, other sustainability initiatives
As part of a plan to shift Santa Fe to carbon-free electricity by 2040, the city is looking toward approving $15.5 million in projects meant to increase sustainability.
A wave of repairs, efficiency upgrades and new solar arrays scheduled for a vote in early 2021 is projected to save the city $230,392 in utility payments on public buildings during the first year the projects are complete, according to an audit. The nearly 300-page document details ways Santa Fe could become greener without costing taxpayers in the long run.
The list of projects in the audit will take about a year to construct if the City Council approves them.
Santa Fe Public Works Director Regina Wheeler said the Legislature approved about $925,000 in 2019 for the plan, and the funds will serve as “seed money” to jumpstart a broader $15.5 million overhaul.
But all the proposals are “economically feasible,” Wheeler said, “which means the improvements are paid back by the savings.”
“There’s no increase in costs to the city to implement these improvements,” Wheeler said.
The city is looking to construct 2.8 megawatts of solar energy, replace 9,000 city streetlights with more efficient LED lights and retrofit about 6,000 water fixtures meant to cut back on consumption, Wheeler told city councilors during a meeting this week.
Santa Fe currently has roughly 4 megawatts of electricity from renewable sources. One megawatt of solar power can fuel roughly 190 homes for a year, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.
Wheeler said city staff hasn’t yet crunched the numbers to determine what portion of city power would be from carbon-neutral sources, if councilors approve all the measures outlined in the extensive audit.
But she said they would make up “a significant increase in the amount we have.”
Wheeler said she plans to present the proposals to the City Council in February.
The Santa Fe Public Works Department is recommending 26 new solar arrays, most of which already have been approved by the Public Service Company of New Mexico, the state’s largest electricity provider. PNM
reviews the design of each array and issues a letter approving connection to the electric grid.
Some of the projects are still awaiting review by PNM and all have to be approved by the City Council before construction can begin. That includes a solar carport at the police administration building on Cerrillos Road and a solar-powered, 10 million-gallon water tank.
Among the projects are proposals to repair solar panels leaking power at the Genoveva Chavez Community Center, new arrays across the city and replacing the roof at the Canyon Road Water Treatment Plant with rooftop solar panels.
Other solar projects have been identified, including potential arrays at the Southside Branch Library, an array at Fire Station 8 on Jaguar Drive, one at Alto Park on the east side, as well as a handful at Santa Fe Regional Airport.
Other projects the city is considering may call for federal or county approval, including larger arrays planned near the city water facilities and panels at the airport.
Chuck Noble, who previously worked for the Coalition for Clean and Affordable Energy, said he’s glad to hear Santa Fe is working to become greener.
“Anything they do will help,” Noble said. “I’ve been wanting them for years to put in LED lighting ... because it’s so much more efficient and saves a lot of energy. Albuquerque’s gone a lot farther in doing that than Santa Fe has, and we ought to follow their example and move toward LED lighting for street lighting.”