Albuquerque officials have announced the start of a $25 million solar project that they hope will generate 25% of energy consumed by municipal buildings by 2025.
The first building to have solar panels installed will be the Alamosa Community Center, a phase of the project that represents a $5.2 million investment, according to the Albuquerque Journal. Seven fire stations within the city will also benefit from solar panel installation in the coming months.
The news journal reported that during a news conference at the Alamosa Community Center, Mayor Tim Keller said he intends to accelerate implementation of the project, as only 3% of city buildings use renewable energy.
The city recently secured $24.8 million in Clean Renewable Energy Bonds.
In April 2017, Albuquerque announced that the city – the largest in New Mexico with a population of more than 500,000 – had begun the process of deploying over $25 million worth of solar projects on the rooftops of municipal buildings.
And in April 2015, Albuquerque was designated as the tenth 2030 District in the United States. The Albuquerque 2030 District is a high-performance building community that aims to reduce energy and water consumption in buildings as well as reduce emissions from transportation with goals leading up to the year 2030.
