SANTA FE, N.M. - While the ever-fluctuating price of gas keeps commuters on their toes, electricity offers a less expensive option that is growing in popularity. This is the second year of "EV Plug-In Day," co-sponsored by the Sierra Club, to help promote electric vehicle use in New Mexico. The event is designed to educate the general public about electric vehicles, and is a kind of "car club" for owners of electric cars and hybrids.

Karen Paramanandam, sales and marketing coordinator with Positive Energy Solar, says there will be some real hands-on experiences for the "green" auto mechanics.

"There will be home-built electric vehicles, so people can talk to people who have done it on their own cars. So, if you don't want to purchase a production vehicle, you can talk to people that have just done it themselves."

She says people can also see how to charge vehicles, and have opportunities to ride in and drive them. Santa Fe's Plug-In Day event runs this weekend, Friday evening through Sunday.

Paramanandam says it's easy to drive an electric vehicle.

"It's just like driving a regular old vehicle. The one thing that you're going to have to change your mentality on when you're driving is, that you have to plug it in. That's basically it."

Monte Ugdahl, president of New Mexico Solar Energy, says Santa Fe held a small version of "Plug-In Day" last year. But the 2012 event is expected to be much bigger, in response to the growing popularity of electric vehicles in New Mexico.

"We now have a wide network of people who plug in a standard receptacle. That has made it really grow. It's no longer just easier to build your own unit, but now the commercial markets have grown considerably."

Ugdahl says it's difficult to determine how many electric vehicles are on New Mexico roads, since many conversion vehicles are not differentiated by their license plates. He says the state could see a significant increase in EVs on the road within the next year. A tax incentive proposal for EVs is being drafted for the New Mexico Legislature to consider in January.

The event starts Friday evening, Sept. 21. It continues Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at 1628 St. Michael's Drive, Santa Fe. Event co-sponsors: Sierra Club, Plug-In America, the Electric Auto Assn., the NM Solar Energy Assn., Northern NM Electric Vehicle Assn., and Positive Energy Solar.

More information, including a map, is online at events.pluginday.org.




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Southwestern Pennsylvania is a major U.S. hotspot for gas extraction through fracking, but new polling reveals overwhelming public support for tighter industry oversight.

More than four in ten Pennsylvanians told pollsters they'd support an outright ban on fracking.

Sean O'Leary, senior researcher at the Ohio River Valley Institute, said the poll was conducted to assess voters' attitudes toward the fracking industry.

Multiple questions were asked about what could be done to minimize or reduce some of the impacts of fracking.

"And what we found was that, across the board, across a variety of different measures," said O'Leary, "more than 90% of all Pennsylvanians supported increased efforts in those regards."

O'Leary points to a recent University of Pittsburgh study that found significant health risks associated with living near fracking sites.

The poll shows 86% of Pennsylvanians are broadly concerned about water, and 82% about air pollution.

Nearly eight in ten say they worry about the effects of pollution on their family's and community's health. And more than four in ten believe fracking has negative effects on air and water quality.

O'Leary said voters in Pennsylvania are still generally supportive of the natural gas industry.

But he said he believes that's the result of what he called "a widespread misunderstanding" that fracking is vital to Pennsylvania's economy.

He contended fracking has led to a net loss of jobs and population in some counties, causing significant economic loss to these regions.

"The other thing that I think a lot of people are not aware of is that in Pennsylvania, in just the last four years, the fracking industry has laid off 40% of its workforce," said O'Leary. "Four out of every 10 workers in fracking have lost their jobs."

He said early industry-funded studies predicted fracking would create around 250,000 jobs in Pennsylvania.

But recent data show it's been fewer than 20,000, or less than one-percent of the state's total workforce.

A recent study from the Sierra Club found people in Brookfield, Connecticut, could face severe effects from a proposed compressor station expansion.

The pipeline's owners conducted their own health study but the Sierra Club said it was flawed and did not account for several factors. The new study showed people nearby will face higher fine particulate matter emissions and many other noxious gases, like carbon monoxide.

Kerry Swift, a longtime Brookfield resident, said it began with one compressor station back in 2006.

"The next year they put in for two and now they want four," Swift explained. "There's these three huge interstate pipelines that are aging and they're putting more and more compressor stations on them; putting more and more gas through them, which they weren't built for."

A major issue Swift and other residents have with the expansion is the emissions will vent 1,900 feet from Whisconier Middle School. The town's elected officials and residents want the state's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to deny the project's air permits. Along with Brookfield, the village of Athens, New York recently passed a resolution urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to similarly deny air permits for the expansion.

Another concern about the expansion is Connecticut is supposed to cut greenhouse gas emissions 45% by 2030.

Nick Katkevich, campaign organizing strategist for the Sierra Club, noted an electric compressor station could be better for the environment but said blowdowns would still be a problem.

"Basically what's happening is the company needs to release pressure on the pipeline so they'll do it at the compressor facility and basically just shooting huge amounts of fracked gas into the air," Katkevich explained.

The companies have said it would be too expensive to convert the compressor station to electricity. Katkevich added along with committing to air monitoring in Brookfield, the state's energy department should meet with people in town before approving expansion permits. However, the department has declined the invitation for two years.

New York State authorized utilities to develop thermal energy network pilot programs to further its decarbonization goals. Thermal energy networks use non-emitting energy sources like geothermal boreholes or waste-heat, to heat and cool buildings. Eleven pilot projects stem from commitments made in the 2022 Utility Thermal Energy Network and Jobs Act.

Allison Considine, senior campaigns and communications manager for New York, Building Decarbonization Coalition, said college campuses with these systems are seeing a striking number of benefits.

"Using a thermal energy network, especially with geothermal is about six times more efficient than using a traditional gas furnace or oil furnace," she explained.

She added that buildings must go electric if New York will reach its decarbonization goals. Though the state's Building Code Council included the All-Electric Buildings Act in its 2025 draft code update, neighborhoods still face challenges in implementing thermal energy networks. Considine said barriers in state law prevent utilities from connecting multiple independently owned buildings to a thermal energy network.

The pilot programs could reach active construction by 2026 or 2027. They'll be online for five years so the respective utility agencies can gather data about their efficacy. But, to ensure the transition to cleaner fuels, Considine said certain laws have to be changed to move New York away from fossil fuel energy systems.

"And there's a provision on the books, we kind of call it New York's pro-gas mandate, which requires utilities to continue delivering gas service if a customer demands it, even if there is a less polluting, more affordable alternative for that customer," she added.

The New York HEAT Act would end this rule and allow the state to move toward a more energy-efficient future. The bill gives the state's Public Service Commission authority to align utility companies with the state's climate laws. It also phases out gas line extension allowances, which reduced the use of gas in the state.