Last month, the Bernalillo, N.M., property installed a carport with 810 solar panels that gives shade to the parking area and services the entire campus, with the exception of its two pump stations. The club said it could take up to 10 years to get a return on the investment.
The Santa Ana Golf Club in Bernalillo, N.M., installed a 250-kilowatt carport in its parking lot last month, the Albuquerque (N.M.) Journal reported.
The port’s 810 solar panels not only give shade to a bulk of the parking area, but it is literally lighting the way for the facility, the Journal reported.
“It’s servicing the entire campus, with the exception of our two pump stations on the golf course,” says Director of Golf Derek Gutierrez. “It provides the power for the Santa Ana golf shop, the Wind Dancer Bar & Grill, the Prairie Star restaurant, the cart barn—which houses 105 electric golf carts—and the Notah Begay III Foundation building, which was our former pro shop.”
In an industry where most courses nationwide are trying to find ways to save money, the city took a step to do something. Gutierrez wouldn’t say what the project cost, but said “it will take us eight-to-10 years to get a return on our investment. But we’re anxious to see our first PNM bill reflecting implementation of solar.
“We’ve been extremely fortunate in this market to continue to do well by growing rounds of golf and growing revenues. It’s a challenging market, but we’re looking ahead and finding new ways of driving additional dollars to the bottom line. And being that we have a waste-water treatment plan, and we’re using reclaimed waste water, this seems like a perfect fit to start implementing solar as a way to save and be more environmentally conscious.”
Gutierrez said the Santa Ana Golf Board of Directors liked the idea, but didn’t want to put something up that would clash with the surrounding beauty of the area. So they got three local bids, and Osceola Energy met their criteria, the Journal reported.
“This is a one-of-a-kind project,” said Adam Harper, co-owner of Osceola, which is located in Albuquerque. “It’s the only one made with the same artistic look as the area around it. It’s custom. I don’t think anyone else in state, that I know of, has anything like that; the hand-blown glass, the emblems, the paintings.
“They wanted a one-of-a-kind structure, not like the one at Costco or the airport, where those kind of have an industrial look. They’re more for functionality than aesthetics. They wanted something higher end.”
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