City of Santa Fe OKs $290K to cover solarization project

Sean P. Thomas, The Santa Fe New Mexican
·2 min read

May 21—The City Council's Finance Committee earlier this week approved a $290,000 budget adjustment to cover the first lease payment for Santa Fe's sweeping streetlight and solarization conversion project.

The city in March 2021 entered into a 18-year, $15.4 million lease agreement with Sterling National Bank to fund solar panels, LED streetlights and other energy saving investments at various city facilities, meant to be repaid by energy savings associated with the projects.

But Public Works Director Regina Wheeler on Wednesday said work tied to solarization of two locations of the Buckman Direct Diversion, a joint city-county entity, and at two locations on U.S. Forest Service property, has experienced delays. The federal agency hasn't approved the city's access, Wheeler said.

"We're close," Wheeler said in a Wednesday interview. "We are working through some final stuff on that and we are hoping it is done in 30 days but these kind of contracts are kind of out of our hands."

Because the financing for the project is meant to be covered by energy savings after the full installation, and the Buckman Direct Diversion agreement states it would not pay its share of the lease agreement until energy savings are realized, the Santa Fe Water Division offered to cover the first lease payment due on June 1, about $290,000.

A spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service could not be reached for comment.

Wheeler said the city hopes to have the permit in place by July, after which it will take about eight weeks to complete.

If the city does not receive the permit by July to install the equipment before the next lease payment is due by December, it is likely the city will have to cover another portion of the Buckman Diversion's lease agreement.

The city previously contracted with Yearout Energy Services Company to conduct an investment-grade audit of possible energy savings measure at different city facilities.

The solarization project is part of a larger effort that also includes a conversation of more than 5,000 city street lights to LED bulbs. The city's portion of that project wrapped up in February.