Did you know that:
The Sun delivers more energy to the Earth in an hour than we use in a year...
~ 4,000 square miles of solar panels would produce the electricity needed to power the US
~85% of your electricity from PNM is coming from coal, nuclear, and natural gas...
... from power plants hundreds of miles away, if you’re a PNM customer.Getting off of fossil fuels...
"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not."-
The Lorax (by Dr. Seuss) ...Sums it up!
Resources
Vote Solar
Since 2002, Vote Solar has been working to make solar affordable and accessible to more Americans.Vote Solar works at the state level all across the country to support the policies and programs needed to re-power our grid with clean energy.
Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition or SVTC
The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition is a diverse non-profit organization engaged in research, advocacy and grassroots organizing to promote human health and environmental justice in response to the rapid growth of the high-tech industry.
New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department or EMNRD
Ken Hughes (kenhughes.org/) | Mark Gaiser | |
Responsibilities | - Building Energy Efficiency (Schools & Local Government) - Efficient Use of Energy - Utility Programs - Sustainable Building Tax Credit - Residential | - Residential Solar Tax Credit - Solar Energy - Waste Not - Increasing Energy Efficiency in Treating Wastewater |
Phone # | (505) 476-3320 | (505) 476-3318 |
ken.hughes@state.nm.us | mark.gaiser@state.nm.us |
Santa Fe County Sustainability Manager
If you live in Santa Fe County, they have dedicated resources for a Santa Fe County Sustainability Manager.
Her name is Claudia Borchert, her office phone # is (505) 992-3044, and her cell phone # is (505) 412-1254.
Click here for Craig O'Hare's 2-page Solarize Santa Fe flyer. Craig O'Hare used to be the Santa Fe County Energy Specialist, and click here for an article Craig wrote for the Green Fire Times.
Sandrine Gaillard (the author)
My first encounter with Solar was when I was in engineering school in France in the early 2000s. We studied solar panels for a short while, but they were still very expensive at the time, so they were not financially feasible for most people. Moreover, Paris and its metropolitan area (where I grew up) are not exactly known for their overwhelming sunshine...
In the Summer of 2015, I became responsible to help Solarize Santa Fe for the Sierra Club, a joint effort of dedicated, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable Sierra Club members, officials and residents of Santa Fe County, the City of Santa Fe and the state of New Mexico.
I have been living just outside of Santa Fe since 2007 and I joined the Executive Committee for the Northern New Mexico Group for the Sierra Club in December 2014.
I have always been passionate about the environment, and especially clean energy. At an early age, I wanted to rid the world of its nuclear waste, and later went on to specialize in fusion energy research.
I obtained an MS in Energy & Environment Engineering (2003), an MS in Physics (2005), and a PhD in Plasma Physics (2009), and occasionally consult on scientific matters.
Although carrying the simple message of Solarizing one's home was exciting at the time, it became clear that actually taking that step was more difficult than I had anticipated when I started shopping for my own panels. There was no better way to educate myself than to do the research myself, and this research is what I am excited to share in this website.
I am hoping that as many people as possible take the plunge and go Solar Now in Santa Fe, New Mexico and everywhere across the country, to limit our dependency on fossil fuels as much and as quickly as possible, as a gift to the generations to come.
I can be contacted at contact@gosolarnownm.info.