Harnessing the sun's rays

City considers putting solar panels on municipal buildings in bid to utilize renewable energy

Staci Matlock | The New Mexican

10/31/2008 - 10/30/08

The sun could provide about 90 percent of the electrical power needed by the city of Santa Fe's wastewater-treatment plant if Public Service Company of New Mexico goes along with the idea.

Solar panels could sprout on other city buildings as well under proposals for 7.5 megawatts of solar photovoltaic projects that the city and Maryland-based SunEdison hope to make a reality, city energy specialist Nick Schiavo said.

The city put out a request for proposals for solar energy projects in June and received five bids, eventually choosing SunEdison, a company that develops and owns solar power systems around the nation.

Now SunEdison has submitted the proposal to PNM, the state's largest utility company, which has been looking for renewable energy sources to comply with requirements imposed by state regulators.

While she couldn't discuss specific proposals, PNM spokeswoman Susan Sponar said her company received 71 bids for renewable projects before an Oct. 15 deadline. "That's a very good response," she said. "That means there's a lot of good ideas out there."

She said the utility company hopes to narrow the list by next month but isn't sure how many projects will be chosen.

PNM must draw 20 percent of the company's energy capacity with renewables by 2020. PNM currently is required to provide at least 6 percent of its energy from renewable sources.

If PNM approves the SunEdison proposal, that company would design, build, own and operate the solar power facilities on city land plus receive a payout from PNM for each kilowatt of generated power. The city would pay for the solar power at a 20-year fixed rate. PNM, meanwhile, could count the project as part of its renewable energy portfolio.

SunEdison would install a 2.8-megawatt-capacity solar photovoltaic facility near Santa Fe's wastewater treatment plant off Airport Road. It would install another 3-megawatt-capacity solar facility near a new water treatment plant that will clean water from the planned Rio Grande diversion project near Buckman. That solar facility could provide up to 50 percent of the power needed to clean and pipe river water to the city's main trunk lines, Schiavo said.

The rest of the solar power capacity would be installed as solar photovoltaic panels on 10 city buildings, Schiavo said.

PNM, which gets the bulk of its power from coal-fired generating plants, must establish a renewable-energy portfolio that includes no less than 20 percent wind power, 20 percent solar power and 10 percent from other sources such as geothermal or biomass. In addition to meeting regulatory targets, Evelin Wheeler, PNM's director of strategy, planning and analytics, said, "We are also trying to find cost-effective energy sources that are also good for the environment."

The solar installations are only one idea that Schiavo and other city staffers are working on to increase the city's use of renewable energy while cutting overall demand for energy.

The city is running energy audits on all buildings with the goal of making them more efficient, Schiavo said.

The city received a $125,000 grant from the state Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department to install a combined heat and power system at the Genoveva Chavez Community Center. A natural gas-powered generator will create electricity, and waste heat will be used to heat the center's therapy pool and provide other hot water.

The city also is looking at the potential benefits of installing a variable frequency drive on pumps that circulate water in the center's swimming pools. "Right now the pumps run 24 hours a day," Schiavo said. A variable speed pump would allow slower circulation at night when no one is using the pools.

Contact Staci Matlock at 470-9843 or smatlock@sfnewmexican.com.