City Lights the Way for Clean Energy with Solar Santa Fe

WildEarth Guardians will work across New Mexico to increase renewable energy and energy efficiency

SANTA FE-Hundreds of individuals, partnered with fifty organizations and businesses, rejoiced yesterday as Santa Fe City Council approved a 60 day study that should ultimately facilitate implementation of the Solar Santa Fe program. Once enacted, Solar Santa Fe would pave the way for Santa Fe residents to more easily adopt solar electric and hot water systems and energy efficiency measures. WildEarth Guardians and its Solar Santa Fe supporters see this program as a means of actualizing a more sustainable clean energy economy for New Mexico and the first of many steps in reducing the amount of global warming pollution generated from the use of fossil fuels.

"Our dependence on fossil fuels is having devastating effects on our health as well as the health of our wild places, wild life and wild rivers," said John Horning, Executive Director of WildEarth Guardians. "As we have seen in the Galisteo Basin, New Mexicans are demanding more sustainable solutions to our energy needs, and the City of Santa Fe is taking the first step to respond to the public call for clean energy with Solar Santa Fe."

The Solar Santa Fe program will allow for the City of Santa Fe to loan monies from municipal bonds to property owners for the installation of solar energy systems and energy efficiency measures. Property owners would repay the city loan with the money saved on their monthly utility bill over the life of the solar system or energy efficiency measure. There have been indications that the program would initially have a $1 million budget for a pilot. However, in light of general scientific agreement that our time frame to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is very limited, WildEarth Guardians is calling on the city to have a much larger program. One beauty of the program is that it costs the city very little as the city is just borrowing money and then re-loaning that money.

"By promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency, the Solar Santa Fe program will allow New Mexicans to save money on their monthly utility bills and also help combat global warming," said Robert Ukeiley, Director of the Climate and Energy program for WildEarth Guardians.

In addition to addressing the problem of up front costs-what most see as the major hurdle to wide-spread adoption of individual solar energy systems-WildEarth Guardians see Solar Santa Fe as establishing Santa Fe as a leader in clean energy efforts, and a first step towards an entirely renewable energy economy for New Mexico.

Recently, New Mexico State University's Institute for Energy and the Environment stated that some experts estimate as few as 40 minutes of sunlight striking the land surface of the United States could provide more energy than the country's annual fossil fuel use. According to NMSU, if less than 0.1 percent of the Earth's land surface were devoted to solar electric power systems, enough energy to satisfy the global electricity needs of the modern world could be generated.

WildEarth Guardians is well aware of the potential of solar power to support New Mexico's energy needs and has helped to garner business, organizational, and individual support for Solar Santa Fe.

"New Mexico has provided tax incentives to individuals who incorporate solar heating and electric, and green building techniques, and has led the way in opening doors for large scale renewable energy projects in New Mexico, but we still need more action to address our dirty and dangerous addiction to fossil fuels," said Horning. "Our politicians are responding to the public cry for clean energy with the first step to implementing Solar Santa Fe. Finally, cities like Santa Fe are stepping up and addressing the climate and energy crisis."

WildEarth Guardians will continue working with other communities, concerned individuals, elected officials, health care providers, and others in support of renewable energy and efficiency measures by replicating its efforts with Solar Santa Fe in other cities.

As of January 28, 2008 WildEarth Guardians, Sinapu, and the Sagebrush Sea Campaign have joined forces to become WildEarth Guardians. With offices in Boulder, Denver, Phoenix, and Santa Fe, WildEarth Guardians protects and restores wildlife, wild places, and wild rivers in the American West.


 

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