Coal kills - Rio Grande Chapter

CLEANING UP
Member Story No. 1: Self-sufficiency
Jeff and
Debby
Potter
installed
a solar
sytem
in 2007
and have
a greenhouse
to
extend
their
vegetablegrowing
season.
Rio Grande Chapter members have submitted
testimonials about saving money and wasting less
through energy efficiency and clean energy. We’ll
be publishing some of these stories throughout the
next several issues of The Sierran.
I’ve been in New Mexico nearly all of my 57
years, and in 1992 my wife and I bought a
modest 1,950-square-foot house on half an
acre in Albuquerque’s far north valley.
We knew it would be a great place to grow
old in, with enough land and good soil for
a garden. We grow as many vegetables as
possible and built a greenhouse to extend our
growing season.
After 15 years of endless gas and electric rate
increases and the realization that we have an
abundant energy source illuminating our property
nearly every day, year-round, we decided
to invest in 2007 and 2008 in the construction
of our own solar energy system and tie it to
PNM’s electricity grid.
The construction helped to update our electrical
system while forming an economic platform
that New Mexico can stand on for years
to come. Our state is in a unique position to
benefit from the renewable energy industry.
In 2010, we also replaced our windows with
the highest-efficiency glazed types available and
replaced our boiler with a 96 percent efficient
model in 2012.
Finally, we replaced our roof with lightercolored
shingles that absorb less heat to reduce
costs from the summer evaporative cooling.
— Jeff and Debby Potter, Alameda, N.M.
Member
Story 2:
House
savings
Solar panels made in Albuquerque and installed in the mountains above Ruidoso.
From the New Mexico
Energy and Minerals Department
RUIDOSO, N.M. – A solar photovoltaic
system installed by the Sun Valley
Water and Sanitation District kept the
water pumping to volunteer firefighters
fighting the Little Bear Fire when all
other power in the area was lost.
“This is a great demonstration of how
solar energy can benefit rural communities
in an emergency,” said Louise
Martinez, Division Director for the
Energy, Conservation and Management
Division. “Solar energy also provides
great energy electric utility savings.”
Thanks to a grant from the Energy,
Conservation and Management
Division, the Sun Valley Water and
Sanitation District in Alto, N.M.,
installed the system in the spring of
2012. It is an 11-kilowatt, grid-interconnected,
single-axis tracking, and polemounted
solar photovoltaic system to
generate electricity used by the community
water system, a few miles north of
Ruidoso. The system cost $75,000.
The State Energy Program provided
the grant to Sun Valley Water and
Sanitation District using remaining
American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act funds, to demonstrate that a rural
water co-op could benefit from the
use of solar to offset pumping expense.
It is the first rural water coop in New
Photo by Ken Hughes
Solar saves the day
System kept water pumping when fire knocked out other power
Mexico, if not the nation, to incorporate
solar.
The power provided by the system
has enabled the Sun Valley Water and
Sanitation District to obtain all the electricity
it needs for pumping water in the
hilly service territory.
When the Little Bear Fire spread,
several communities and neighborhoods
in the path of the fire and surrounding
areas were ordered to leave. The area has
been continuously suffering from power
outages and many power surges.
Alto, N.M., is an unincorporated
community in Lincoln County. It is
located in the Lincoln National Forest.
Alto is located at 7,300 feet.
Four years ago, I started greening
my house as I made needed
repairs. First I replaced the main
windows with double-pane, energysaving
windows (which also reduced
outside noise considerably). I have
followed up
with Energy
Star toilets
(rebate water
credit paid for
them entirely),
showerheads,
refridgerator,
dishwasher and
entry door. I’ve
also installed an
energy efficient
Norma Reyes
garage door and put a thermal blanket
on the water heater.
As we repair and paint rooms, my
son and I are sealing seams along the
floors and outer walls and using low
VOC paint. He sealed the skylights
and sprayed foam around outlets and
switches on the outer walls. He also
Xeriscaped the front and back yard,
and placed a rain water barrel that has
hose connections in the back yard.
Most of the lighting in the house is
now LED or fluorescent.
While there are still a few more
projects to do, the house is much
more comfortable in any season. The
new swamp cooler, although not rated
Energy-Star, does have a thermostat
that keeps the house at a steady
comfort when it is hot outside. The
furnace, which is a future project,
doesn’t click on as often as it used to,
since the house retains the heat longer.
All in all, I am very pleased with
how things are progressing and the
feeling that we are helping our environment.
Cheers, Norma Reyes, Albuquerque
July/August/September 2012 rio Grande Sierran 9