While the United States aims to become carbon neutral by 2050, Western New Mexico University has set a more ambitious goal: to be carbon neutral by 2030. Many of the initiatives that will be needed to achieve this goal are well underway.
At present, approximately 50% of the energy the university uses comes from carbon-neutral sources. The greatest single source of this energy is a solar farm operated by PNM’s Community Solar Direct program, located on the Jicarilla Apache Nation in northern New Mexico. According to Vice President of Facilities and Operations Kevin Matthes, WNMU currently receives one megawatt of electricity from this farm, which is enough to satisfy approximately one-third of the university’s energy needs.
WNMU also generates solar power on campus. In 2022, the university added a parking structure with photovoltaic panels next to the Fine Arts Center Theatre, and this summer, additional panels were added near the WNMU Museum. These on-campus panels provide 15% of the energy used on campus. According to the WNMU Campus Master Plan, the “best source of energy is produced right at the point of use. Therefore, onsite renewable energy generation systems are paramount for reducing carbon emissions in the most efficient method possible.” Because onsite energy production is so important to achieving the university’s net-zero goal, WNMU plans to install additional solar carports as well as freestanding photovoltaic panels in the future.
In addition to using solar power, the university has been exploring ways to limit the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions produced on campus and to reduce its energy needs. As part of this process WNMU has partnered with the company Yearout Energy to perform an audit of energy usage on campus. This audit helped the university identify where mitigation was needed, resulting in a number of projects that have recently been undertaken, including retrofitting 8,500 light fixtures to LED technology, remediating air leakage from buildings on campus, optimizing the ventilation system in the university kitchens, and installing seventeen new high-efficiency HVAC units as well as high-efficiency electrical transformers. In all, the on-campus solar panels and the other improvements have reduced the university’s annual energy consumption by 22%, according to Matthes.
One obvious source of GHG emissions on campus is the gasoline-powered vehicles that are used to commute to campus. To mitigate these emissions, one step the university is taking as it works to become carbon neutral is to install electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. In cooperation with Freeport-McMoRan, which is helping to fund the initiative, the university will be installing four EV charging stations on campus, each with the ability to charge two vehicles at once. “With the current federal goal for 50% of all vehicle sales by 2030 to be electric,” said Vice President of Facilities and Operations Kevin Matthes said, “WNMU understands that additional electrical infrastructure will be needed to facilitate that goal and is working to be a leader in the state and region in working toward our shared goal of carbon neutrality.” The installation of the charging stations will “continue our long tradition of good stewardship to our environment,” said Matthes. The project is awaiting approval from the New Mexico Higher Education Department.
Another way the university is encouraging alternatives to gasoline-powered vehicles is to make the campus more pedestrian friendly. Recent landscaping projects and the installation of public art across campus have created an environment that is more welcoming to exploration by foot, encouraging students, staff and faculty to leave their car keys behind.
WNMU is also acting to offset any GHG emitted. One way it is doing this is by planting trees, which work to keep the campus cooler as well as to consume and store carbon directly, a process called carbon sequestration. In the past three years, said WNMU Horticultural Coordinator Chala Werber, the university has planted over twenty trees each year. The university’s efforts have led it to be recognized as a “Tree Campus” by the Arbor Day Foundation, a designation that reflects the university’s efforts to establish a university community forest. Said Werber, “Every tree we plant moves us closer to carbon neutrality.”
Werber is currently working with the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) to have the campus recognized as a “Climate Ready Trees Demonstration Site.” According to the EMNRD, the Climate Ready Trees Program “is designed to identify climate adaptable tree species that can survive current conditions and climatic changes over the next century and introduce these species into our urban landscape.” As a demonstration site, WNMU would serve to educate the public about climate adaptable tree species. Visitors to campus would have an opportunity to observe how climate ready trees perform under local and regional conditions, while the university community forest would both provide cooling shade and serve as a model of sustainable carbon sequestration.
All these initiatives are just the beginning of the university’s movement to achieve carbon neutrality. Future projects will include designing new construction to be net-zero, constructing a new greenhouse where produce can be grown locally for campus consumption and implementing additional landscaping and carbon sequestration projects. Said WNMU President Joseph Shepard, “We as a university are moving forward in green energy and environmental sustainability.”