Albuquerque spent $4M on solar panels, over 1,000 remain unused 6 years later

THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO SPENT MILLIONS ON SOLAR PANELS IN 2019.

BUT MORE THAN A THOUSAND OF THEM HAVE SAT UNUSED FOR SIX YEARS.

DOCUMENTS OBTAINED BY THE ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL FOUND OVER 4 MILLION DOLLARS IN BOND REVENUE WAS USED TO INSTALL THE PANELS ON SEVEN CITY BUILDINGS.

HOWEVER, THE PANELS ON TWO OF THOSE BUILDINGS ARE STILL NOT GENERATING POWER-

AND ANOTHER IS ONLY USING SIX PERCENT OF ITS FULL CAPACITY.

THIS SOLAR INVESTMENT WAS PART OF AN INITIATIVE BY MAYOR TIM KELLER-

WHICH AIMED TO HAVE ALL MUNICIPAL OPERATATIONS RUN ON 100 PERCENT CLEAN ENERGY BY 2025.

OFFICIALS SAY ALBUQUERQUE IS CURRENTLY USING 80 PERCENT RENEWABLE POWER TO MEET THESE NEEDS-

WITH PLANS TO GET THOSE UNUSED PANELS ONLINE AND ADDING TO THAT TOTAL BY THE END OF THE YEAR.

THE CITY’S GOVERNMENT HAS ATTRITBUTED THE SIX YEAR DELAY IN GETTING THEM OPERATIONAL TO CHANGES IN ENERGY CONSUMPTION CAUSED BY THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC.

THESE PANELS ARE LOCATED IN ALBUQUERQUE’S DOWNTOWN DISTRICT-

WHERE THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY OF NEW MEXICO ENFORCES PROTECTIONS TO ENSURE GRID RELIABILITY IN AN AREA THAT SUPPORTS A LARGE AMOUNT OF THE CITY’S CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE.

SO, WHEN COVID HIT IN 2020, AND ELECTRICITY USAGE IN THE CITY’S DOWNTOWN DROPPED, AND REMAINED BELOW PRE-PANDEMIC LEVELS OVER THE ENSUING YEARS-

SYSTEMS DESIGNED IN 2019 BECAME TOO BIG FOR WHAT WAS THEN NEEDED BY THE PUBLIC OR ALLOWED BY THE LOCAL UTILITY.

AS A RESULT, OFFICIALS ARE NOW EVALUATING WAYS TO CONNECT THE UNUSED PANELS TO DIFFERENT SITES OR RELOCATE THEM TO NEW PROJECTS.

THE ALTERNATIVE TO RELOCATING THE PANELS IS LETTING THEM SIT UNUSED ON THE ROOFS-

AS SOME OF THEM ALREADY HAVE FOR OVER HALF A DECADE-

WHILE WAITING FOR ENERGY CONSUMPTION TO GO UP IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS AS PROJECTED BEFORE GENERATING POWER WITH THEM.

BUT, SINCE A TYPICAL SOLAR PANEL’S LIFESPAN IS 30 TO 35 YEARS, ACCORDING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY-

IN THIS SCENARIO, ABOUT A THIRD OF THESE SOLAR PANELS’ LIVES WOULD BE NON-PRODUCTIVE.

MEANWHILE, DESPITE THIS SETBACK, MAYOR KELLER’S ADMINISTRATION IS STILL OPTIMISTIC ABOUT REACHING ITS RENEWABLE ENERGY GOALS.

TO ACHIEVE THEM, ALBUQUERQUE INTENDS TO ADD SOLAR PANELS TO 25 MORE CITY BUILDINGS OUTSIDE OF DOWNTOWN.

A BILL SUPPORTING THIS MEASURE RECENTLY PASSED A FINANCE AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS COMMITTEE VOTE UNANIMOUSLY-

AND NOW AWAITS A FULL CITY COUNCIL DECISION.

FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS, I’M JACK AYLMER.