Santa Fe Botanical Garden Powers Ahead with Renewable Energy

In 2022, Santa Fe Botanical Garden made a commitment to powering operations with renewable energy.  This became a reality when Positive Energy Solar installed 22 ground mounted solar panels.

Wildwood analyzed SFBG’s 2024 energy use.  The onsite solar array generated 14.27 megawatt-hours of power.  This was enough energy to meet 96% of SFBG’s power needs. 

In 2024, SFBG consumed 14.78 megawatt-hours of power.  The garden supplements power needs from the Public Service Company of New Mexico [PNM].  PNM generates power from a diverse mix of coal, natural gas, geothermal, nuclear, solar and wind facilities across the Southwest.

There are two ways to calculate carbon emissions from energy use.  A location based calculation uses the average emissions from the entire PNM grid to arrive at a total.   PNM produces 11,524 pounds CO2e to generate 14.78 MWh of power. 

A market based calculation factors in procurement decisions of individual organizations. SFBG’s solar panels produce energy without emitting greenhouse gases.   PNM produced 403 pounds CO2e to generate the .51 MWh of ‘supplemental’ power. 

SFBG’s commitment to renewable power saved 11,121 pounds of CO2e in 2024.  This is equivalent to the CO2e emissions from driving a passenger car for a year.

Santa Fe Botanical Garden’s early adoption of renewable power demonstrates their commitment to celebrating and conserving natural resources.