“We are pleased that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear this case,” said Mariel Nanasi, Executive Director of NEE. “Since PNM is opposed to the carbon reduction law and Governor Martinez’s EIB is as well, it’s only fair that we be given an opportunity to defend the carbon pollution reduction rule.” In January of this year, the State Supreme Court, ruling in favor of a New Energy Economy lawsuit, ruled that the Martinez administration acted unconstitutionally when it tried to prevent the publishing of the then carbon pollution reduction rule as codified state law.

NEE is represented by attorney Bruce Frederick of the NM Environmental Law Center. Fredrick said, “We will defend the rule because we provided the hundreds of hours of scientific and economic expert testimony that persuaded the EIB to adopt the rule. It would be a great injustice if our client was now barred from explaining this testimony to the court on appeal.”

NEE led a two-year public process that led to the creation of NM’s landmark carbon reduction law. The rule requires facilities that emit more than 25,000 metric tons of carbon pollution per year to reduce these emissions by 3 percent per year from 2010 levels starting in 2013. The law has been lauded by national experts for its capacity to improve NM’s energy security by means of predictability, market-based mechanisms and extensive compliance flexibility.

The Supreme Court has ordered that responses to the petition be filed before July 11.

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The First Unitarian Church, 3701 Carlisle Blvd. NE in Albuquerque, has become the first mainstream faith congregation in New Mexico to go solar. The solar panels dedicated on June 19 will generate a major amount of the church’s power.

“The members of First Unitarian are very committed to living in a suitable way, and have wanted a solar project since before it was feasible! We gave extra attention to being a model for other nonprofit institutions, religious and secular, to be early adopters of this technology. It’s been a long wait, but we are really happy,” commented Pastor Christine Robinson.

The members of First Unitarian have been working with Consolidated Solar Technology (CST) on the project, which will provide 75% of the energy for the 800-member congregation’s needs. Consolidated Solar set up a lease arrangement with the church, and handled all the regulatory and tax issues.

New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light (www.nm-ipl.org) works with faith communities throughout NM to address “care for creation,” climate change through energy efficiency, and renewable energy. “There are many faith communities who have utilized energy efficiency and would like to go solar,” said Joan Brown, NMIP&L’s executive director. “Affordability on small budgets is the challenge. The success of First Unitarian can be a model for other faith communities.”

Kit Carson Electric Takes Top Solar Honors

Co-op Ranks Second in Nation says SEPA

Kit Carson Electric Co-op has proudly announced its placement atop national rankings for solar electric production for the year 2010. The news came via the nonprofit Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) annual utility solar rankings report.

According to SEPA, the Taos area co-op utility ranked just behind the Hawaiian Island of Kauai’s utility (24.4 watts per customer) with 22.2 watts per customer (member) of solar electric power. Among co-ops nationally, Kit Carson ranked 4th in absolute production with 620 kilowatts of solar power.

“While we are proud of our contribution to solar power progress so far, and we believe this is just the beginning,” said co-op CEO Luis A. Reyes Jr. “Our fiber-to-the-home project will also enable further progress in the direction of a smart, sustainable 21st century electric grid.”

“Kit Carson Electric has developed creative business models and approaches that are appropriate for its environment and that bring the benefits of solar power to its operations, its customers and our society,” said Julia Hamm, President and CEO of SEPA. For its annual report, SEPA surveyed 230 investor-owned, municipal and cooperative electric utilities and ranked them in two categories: total amount of solar power added to their systems in 2010, and the amount of solar power added on a per-customer-served basis.

Kit Carson Electric is a member owned electric distribution cooperative serving nearly 30,000 members in Taos, Colfax and Rio Arriba Counties. The co-op is the recent recipient of a $44 million federal (ARRA) grant to develop the largest rural broadband project in the nation. While the project has economic development, educational and even medical applications, it is also a vehicle for ‘green grid’ innovations that tie everything from solar to smart appliances together for more efficient use of existing capacity as well as better distributed power utilization.

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The EPA estimates that haze reduction nationally would save up to $10 billion a year in health care costs, prevent 1,600 premature deaths and avoid more than 1 million lost work and school days.

Also last month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against states and conservation groups who wanted to file a federal lawsuit to force greenhouse gas emission reductions from power plants. The court said the authority to seek emissions reductions resides with the EPA. The Republican-controlled House, however, is attempting to curtail the EPA’s authority.

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Tickets are $35, online at Brown Paper Tickets. Children under 12 are free. All proceeds go to Home Grown NM and Edible Santa Fe. HGNM’s mission is to provide education and connections to urban farmers in the state. Funds generated from the tour will support the group’s mission and help them expand to more locations. HGNM holds a networking potluck on the fourth Tuesday of each month at the Santa Fe Complex at 6:30 pm to provide information about community homesteading. Call 473.1403 or visit homegrownnewmexico.org.

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The web site (http://www.grass-roots-press.com) now offers expanded statewide coverage, concentrating on the Rio Grande corridor from Taos to Las Cruces/El Paso. It focuses on progressive politics, border issues, localism and sustainability.

Free electronic subscriptions are available through the web site, and news announcements, article ideas, photos, videos and commentary may be submitted to grassrootspress@gmail.com.

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“Our Centex homes in Santa Fe feature many green features important in contributing to a healthier environment,” Brandon said, adding that Centex is part of the city of Santa Fe’s Green Program with Silver certification.

Jones said the Centex communities of Villa Sonata and Colores del Sol feature a number of energy-saving features including: tankless hot water heaters, 14-SEER air conditioners, water efficient fixtures, energy efficient furnaces, 2 x 6 exterior wall studs, enhanced ceiling and wall insulation, low VOC paint and solar-ready construction. The homes also include low water-use front yard landscaping with automatic irrigation and rain harvesting systems.

According to Energy Star, the environmental benefits of these 81 homes alone are equal to the equivalent of:

Eliminating the emissions from 40 vehicles;

Saving 240,000 lbs of coal;

Planting 66 acres of trees; or

Saving the environment 471,000 pounds of CO2 per year.

To earn the Energy Star, a home must meet strict EPA guidelines for energy efficiency. These homes are at least 20% more efficient than standard new homes built today. Nearly 1.2 million Energy Star homes have been built in the U.S. since the program first began labeling homes in 1995.

For more information about Centex, visit www.centex.com. For more information about Energy Star, visit www.energystar.gov or call 1.888-782.7937.

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NYfestivals (New York festivals), considered the “Oscars” of international radio competition, has awarded the Silver Radio Winner to Where Angels Fear To Tread with environmental artist Lily Yeh in the Information/Documentary category and Environmental subcategory. It has named From Bows and Arrows to Laptops featuring Chief Almir Surui of the Amazonian Surui tribe and Rebecca Moore of Google Earth Outreach for the Bronze Award in the Information/Documentary category and Science and Technology subcategory.

Entries were received entries from over 30 countries. Finalists included the BBC, NPR, United Nations, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, American Public Media, Sirius XM Radio and U.S. networks such as ABC.

The Communicator Awards, also a top international competition, gave a remarkable ten awards to shows in “The Bioneers” 2010 radio series. The Gold Award of Excellence went to Why The World Doesn’t End with mythologist activist Michael Meade. Among the nine Silver Awards of Distinction were From Bows and Arrows to Laptops.

The shows can be downloaded at www.bioneers.org/radio/2010-series. The series is now on over 370 stations worldwide. In the U.S., about 320 public radio stations constitute total market coverage of well over 100 million potential listeners. Over 50 stations reach eleven other nations. KUNM airs the series weekly in NM, Wednesdays at 8:30 am. The series will be posted on the Bioneers’ web site on July 6.

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The agenda includes (in part) New Mexico State University and Santa Fe Community College (SFCC), along with updates from NAA’s Algae Oil Spec Committee, the USDA, the National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts (NAABB), and industry updates by Algae Industry Magazine and Emerging Markets Online. A number of biofuel technology companies are scheduled to make presentations.

The day will end with a tour of SFCC’s biofuels lab at the college’s new Trades and Advanced Technologies Center, where New Solutions Energy (NSE) is currently installing their Algae Base Station model. SFCC and NSE are collaborating to develop bio-technicians and production techniques in the state-of-the-art building that provides hands-on learning opportunities for up-and-coming high-demand, high-wage “green” jobs and careers.

A NAA press release quotes Don Paul, former CTO of Chevron, who estimates that it takes about $3 billion and 15 years to get a new fuel from the lab to the market. NAA’s release says, “We’re over budget and woefully late. It’s time for our leaders to stop playing politics with the energy industry and to start working for solutions that will take the pressure off household budgets and enhance our energy security. The NAA invites conference attendees to collaborate with the NAABB and USDA, algae researchers, equipment manufacturers, end-users and funding sources who, together, will help the U.S. become energy independent, form a sustainable energy landscape, and prepare diverse, work-ready talent for this emerging industry.”

For more information and to register, call the NAA at 936.321.1125 or email info@nationalalgaeassociation.com

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Ranchers have complained that the predators attack their cattle and threaten children. Environmentalists point out that, among other things, the wolves control wild pigs that destroy native flora, and they have a role to play in balancing the environment, such as keeping the rodent population down.

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“We have been lied to for years,” says Hoffman. “The government and large-scale builders have claimed that Zero Energy homes could not be built for a price that working families can afford. But with the evolution of building science and the drop in the cost of solar electric panels, builders in New Mexico and around the country have proven that this is not true. New Mexico companies such as Renaissance Builders and Artistic Homes have been delivering Zero Energy homes at competitive prices for several years. Utilizing innovative design, super insulation, energy efficient appliances and lighting as well as photovoltaic panels on the roof, these homes generate an annual net energy bill of zero.”

According to the organization Architecture 2030 (www.architecture2030.org) 49% of all energy demand in America is used in buildings. Architecture 2030’s founder, Santa Fean Ed Mazria, says that as this country faces energy insecurity and the effects of climate change, our very survival may depend on making existing buildings more efficient. He has called for making Zero Energy homes the norm by the year 2030.

Kim Shanahan, Director of the Santa Fe Area Home Builders Association (SFAHBA) is working to educate the group’s members on how and why to build more efficient buildings. He says, “We call on our members to rise to the occasion and achieve the efficiencies available today, and to inform buyers that these homes are available at around the same price as less efficient homes.”

Some of Natural Homes’ LEED-certified Zero Energy homes have provided buyers as much as $25,000 in state and federal tax credits. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a federal program offering up to $9 per square foot federal tax credits plus solar tax credits for qualifying homes.

This month, the SFAHBA and Natural Homes, along with other sponsors, are offering free workshops on these topics for buyers and builders starting July 8. The workshops will take place in a passive solar home designed by Hoffman that is being upgraded to Zero Energy. The workshops will cover the essentials of what the new building techniques are, how existing homes can be renovated to achieve Zero Energy, how they are rated and what tax benefits are available.

For more information, call 505.316.0449 or visit www.newvillage.com.

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